#who have been in love since they were in their late teens/early twenties/whatever age they were when they met during the war

[cocolacola]

Omg i love Heinkel she is just a mentally ill gay like me

I would love to see some Heinkel headcanons from you

sure thing!!

most of these are based upon things we can sorta just infer about the series since hirano loooves to leave things open-ended, so some of these are moreof theories/explanations than anything if that's alright.

i put some big organized lists of hcs below the cut :)

to start i'll talk about some general fun stuff! (assuming that's what you're here for):

i always use they/them for pronouns for heinkel. mostly because there's a lot of alternation between he and she in different translations and that doesnt sound very cis to me honestly. but i rock with people who use any pronouns too.

i also see lots of ppl say theyre a lesbian and i feel like that miiight just be a byproduct of The Abridged Effect but i dont really have a label on them. they have their freak shit going on with makube so whatever that is

not a natural blonde and is very diligent about taking care of their hair. only lets their roots grow back in once they start getting older and stop giving af

gets a prosthetic arm and leg after the london attack. we know injuries inflicted before becoming a regenerator still stick around (because of anderson's scar) so walter inflicted permanent damage there.

didnt really listen to mainstream music until they started hearing it from other people like seras and makube. heard classic rock after twenty plus years of exclusively angelic choir music & opera and their brain almost exploded

their dynamics with other characters:

was raised with yumie/yumiko at the orphanage so they have a sibling bond, but they drifted a bit in their teen years/early 20s until enrico made them partners in section 13 again. it was awkward for both of them for a bit but they eventually came into their own as iscariot's dynamic duo of murderers. theyre generally pretty serious with each other but sometimes the cain instinct still kicks in

they view enrico as their boss but still fondly remembers their times together as a kid. mostly just thinks he's pathetic, but in a loving way.

anderson is a very clear father figure to them, and as iscariot's next regenerator after his death they feel like they have impossible shoes to fill; theyre very hard on themselves for that reason. the way he died definitely contributed to heinkel's self destructive habits

they had met integra through enrico before the events of hellsing and just... hated her to death. but in a funny almost homoerotic tension way. if seras was there she would have lost her mind over it and would have been overprotective to some degree

now here's some details on the time skip in general:

heinkel was rushed to the vatican (or maybe some other section 13 base) very soon after the battle of london, not a moment too late. if they were taken anywhere else they would have died of blood loss, but was given the choice to become a regenerator human like anderson for a chance to save their life. heinkel accepts because they believe walter is still out there and wants a chance at revenge. it worked and hence heinkel is now seemingly immortal/doesnt age.

side tangent is that i think becoming a Regenerator ends the aging process at whatever time you take it which explains why anderson's age is unknown and why heinkel looks the same in their supposed 40s/50s

after finding out walter had died and their battle was meaningless they were in a dark place for a long time. they were having trouble properly taking care of themselves after becoming a regenerator (i can imagine it's probably pretty weird!!). while still being a part of iscariot they were sorta benched by enrico's regent (before makube) from entering any of the organization's affairs for the next few decades. they were sort of left to rot in a way, which certainly didnt help with the grief. they considered reaching out to the hellsing organization but couldnt bring themselves to. they still somehow managed to become acquaintances with seras after the battle since they shared the same struggle and losses, but that's about it.

side tangent 2: i think seras and heinkel would genuinely become close after integra's death, but that's very far in the future

enter makube about 15-20 years into the timeskip. makube arrives in section 13 as a bishop and a new caretaker to heinkel, and is hellbent on helping them out, since theyre being "neglected" by the current archbishop, and makube regards heinkel as very important for being one of the few remaining veterans of the war in london. them forming a genuine bond would come afterwards, but that's how it started. overenthusiastic makube and tired heinkel shenanigans ensue and somehow they become tied at the hip. makube would become the archbishop quite a few years after this, and heinkel by extension sorta just becomes their de facto mission buddy.

that's all my heinkel thoughts for now! thanks to everyone who showed interest :)

[moonchild-things]

Chapter Eight: Parkside Blossoms

Summary: Shōyō Hinata loves volleyball! There is no doubt that all he really thinks about is volleyball. His sister, however, isn’t the same way. Sakura is ready to start her first year of high school at Karasuno with her twin brother and doesn’t really want to do anything, unlike Shōyō. Though she can’t help it when she gets dragged into the antics of the volleyball club.

Word Count: 4481 

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HINATA SAKURA WAS ALWAYS PLASTERED TO THE side of her twin brother. No matter where her ten-year-old brother was, you would no doubt find Sakura right by his side joining in on whatever he was doing. They never strayed far from each other which most people found to be quite endearing. A pair of adorable looking twins who loved each other to not want to be a part was quite cute. The only time that they were seen apart was during classes since Sakura was in a more advanced class than her brother.

People viewed Sakura as the more responsible Hinata sibling when compared to each other. Shōyō, despite being the older of the two, was by far the far more childish and extremely troublesome. He got into trouble a bit, not intentionally, of course, he wasn't a delinquent after all. Even if they are only junior high students, Sakura was quite mature for her age. She was there to try and keep her brother out of trouble, though it never usually worked. The younger twin liked to blame his moronic nature for his knack to cause trouble. She jokes that she got all the academic genes while Shōyō got the athletic genes. Which is why the twins weren't that alike.

Despite the fact that she tended to hide some of her emotions from time to time she's still... well, a child. At times she can't help her childish naivety or curiosity no matter what she might feel. That included her childish stubbornness to not want to go outside. Shōyō loves going outside to play with friends, no matter what it was. He has an insane amount of energy all the time, which he liked to express through running around playing whatever he felt like. Sakura didn't want to be outside, she'd rather be indoors doing something she liked. Maybe studying, or reading, just something that didn't involve physical exercise.

That was why she was dragging her feet while she followed after her twin and his friends while heading to the park. She had been forced, once again, to spend time with a few other children who had wanted to play soccer at their local park. Of course, she couldn't really argue all that much, since she wanted to be right besides Shōyō and all. She had no choice but to go.

So here she was, sitting on the grass as her brother and his friends ran around laughing and playing with each other. Sakura didn't mind watching them, she didn't mind being included. She's not that athletic or anything, so it's not like she'd be any help in a game or that she would enjoy it. Shōyō has talked her into racing a few times since both of them are pretty fast, but that was the extent of what she would do. She would much rather not play any sort of sport, unless Shōyō asked her to, then she'd have no choice.

She idly picked at the blades of grass in boredom. The slightly warm wind brushed over her like a soft blanket as she watched her brother run around laughing. It brought a smile to herself to see her brother having fun. Even at this young age, Sakura knew all she wants is for her brother to be happy no matter what. 

Just as she was thinking of her brother's happiness, a pink cherry blossom floated right into Sakura's face and placed itself on her button-like nose. Her brown eyes crossed as she stared at the sudden flower on her face. The snap of a camera drew her attention away from the petal on her nose.

The young girl looked up to find a young woman who looked to be in her late teens or early twenties. She was of average height, with nice tan skin and dainty hands that held a camera. The woman smiled sheepishly with her pearly white teeth, "Sorry, it just landed so perfectly, I had to take a picture."

Sakura tilted her head and glanced down at the camera that was in the black-haired woman's hands. Apparently, while a blossom had landed on her nose, the woman had taken a picture of her. Sakura shrugged her small shoulders, "that's fine I guess," she eyed the woman with squinted eyes, "a bit creepy though."

"Ah, I didn't mean to be creepy!" The woman insisted as she knelt down to the young girl's height. Sakura was drawn into her gaze as her shiny blue eyes reflected in the afternoon sun. They looked like crystal pools of water, and Sakura thought that they were very pretty. The stranger smiled, "Though it is a really good picture, do you want to see?"

"Hm," Sakura pursed her lips, "since it's of me... I guess."

The woman chuckled and pulled off her camera from around her neck. Sakura leaned over curiously to take a look at the woman's camera and found that it displayed an image of herself. She didn't like it all that much. The woman obviously knew how to take a good photo, that wasn't the problem. The problem was that Sakura didn't like how stupid she looked in the photo. Her crossed eyes just looked far too silly and her appearance just wasn't something that she liked overall. Sakura's long orange hair looked like a mess and her cheeks were far too pale for her liking. While the woman may have had good photography skills, the subject of the photo was subpar.

"You look quite cute," the woman giggled while showing Sakura the photo. 

Sakura huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, "if you say so."

The woman eyed Sakura for a moment. It seemed like she was easily able to pick up on how Sakura didn't like her appearance in the photo. She thought that perhaps Sakura just wasn't used to being photographed or that she didn’t enjoy being photographed. The woman smiled gently, "have you used a camera like this before?"

Sakura's eyebrows furrowed at the question, "no... why?"

"Why not give it a try!" The woman brightened and took the camera from around her neck, "Here." She plopped the camera into Sakura's hands and stood up straight to push the girl forward, "Come take some pictures of these flowers!" Sakura eyed the strange woman uneasily for a moment. She knew not to talk to strangers, especially one who was as bubbly and inclusive as this woman was. Though she had been talking to her all this time... and nothing bad had come from it. So maybe it was all right. Sakura shrugged her shoulders as she looked over the digital camera in her hands. Why the woman had just handed over this very expensive looking camera to a child who could easily break it was unknown to Sakura. It was quite obvious that this woman was not the smartest person around. Though Sakura did as the woman suggested and lifted the camera and pointed it at a tree. She took a photo of it which caused its lens to shutter. For some reason, Sakura really liked the sound of it. She stared down at the photo for a moment, as she seemed to be amazed at what she had been able to do. The woman even seemed surprised, "Wow! You're a natural!"

This continued for a while longer. Sakura took plenty of photos with the woman's camera and was given a few tips on how to do certain things. The woman even convinced Sakura to let her take a few photos of Sakura by the cherry blossom trees. Sakura eyed the camera for a moment before turning up to the woman. Her large brown eyes, now wide in wonder and brimming with curiosity. Sure, Sakura has seen photographers before and cameras and such, however, seeing this woman, the photos that she was able to take just interested Sakura so much. "Miss?" Sakura stared at her with quite an important question burning on her mind. "Why do you like this so much?" She wanted so badly to why this woman liked being a photographer. The woman just seemed to like doing this a lot, and this is what Sakura had wanted. She wanted to have a skill that she could call her own, and if this woman said that she was good at photography then maybe she could make this a new hobby of hers.

"What? Taking photos?" Sakura nodded, the woman pursed her lips and thought for a moment, "Hm, well, I guess I like it because I get to capture a moment in time. A small moment that could be extremely meaningful to me or someone else. It doesn't have to be meaningful to everyone, but as long as I believe that it has significant value to myself, then I want to be able to have that snapshot of life forever."

Sakura considered the idea for a moment. It was an interesting way to look at it. She never really thought about it necessarily like that, since she just thought photos would just be memories and such. Though she never would have put so much thought into who would find a photo meaningful. Photos of families do hold meaning, but what about the ones of just scenery or an inanimate object? Who would find those meaningful? Why would they be meaningful? Though the idea of capturing a moment in time, not just of people, but of things around them and holding them in a still moment of time seemed so intriguing to Sakura. Such an interesting idea, that she was starting to like the idea of photography more and more. 

"Imouto!!" The two turned to find that Shōyō had shouted out towards his slightly younger sister. It seemed like he had finished playing with his friends as he came running over to her.

Seeing as Shōyō would most likely want to leave after this, Sakura returned the camera to the woman's hands. Though once she let go of the camera, her hands felt a bit fidgety without it in her grasp. It seemed like she had gotten used to the feeling of the camera in her hands, and now that it was gone she just felt strange without it. Sakura pursed her lips, "Thanks, I guess."

"No worries," The woman smiled and began to bounce off to continue taking photos of whatever she liked. "Bye!" 

Shōyō zoomed up to Sakura and tilted his head after the person who his sister had been talking to. "Who was that?"

Her eyes widened as she looked after the woman, though she was only able to catch a fleeting flicker of her black-hair before she was completely gone. "Ah, I didn't get her name..." Sakura's eyes then brightened as she jumped on the balls of her feet, "Though she had a camera and she let me take pictures with it!"

"Really?" His enthusiasm started to grow at the sight of Sakura becoming giddy. This usually happened. When Sakura becomes excited or happy, which happens only about once a day, Shōyō feeds off of it. It was kind of like powering up a battery, there was no doubt that they weren't going to run out of energy for a while.

Sakura nodded her head rapidly with her large smile, "Yeah! The photos she took were so much better than mine, but I think I did a good job."

"That's so cool!" His eyes sparkled at Sakura, "Do you think we can convince Okaasan to get you a camera?!"

"We can try!" The two orange-haired twins then bounded off together to head back home. No doubt they would instantly start pestering their poor mother about what Sakura had found out. Also the fact that she would like a camera now for her new found interest. Though there was no doubt that their mother would be happy that Sakura has found something to be interested in that didn't just involve her brother.

From that moment forward, Sakura became obsessed with photography. She asked her mother for a camera which she eventually got as a birthday present. Once she had a camera of her own, she brought it with her everywhere. She took photos of buildings, plants, people, or anything she found interesting. 

Sakura started to become more invested in her new hobby. Every day she took as many photos as she could. Then she would happily show them to her family, who praised her for her good work. It felt so nice to her. To have this one thing, something that she could do that didn't always have to involve Shōyō at every moment. Sure, she still didn't stray far from his side, like usual, but she could still do this without having to look out for him at every moment. 

Eventually, by the time Shōyō had gained his own obsession with volleyball, Sakura was well into her photography hobby. She became quite skilled with her camera and her mother made her the designated photographer for things like holidays and birthdays, which she thoroughly enjoyed. This is also where she grew to become a tad bit sadistic. Most of the photos that she ended up taking were of Shōyō getting hurt some way or another while trying to practice volleyball.

Up until this point, Sakura had never really thought of showing anyone else her photos. She may enjoy photography, but she was still insecure about what other people would think of what she could do. After all, she was just Shōyō’s twin who did everything with him. Sakura wasn’t anything else except his shadow, so who would care if she decided to do something that didn’t involve her brother.

It would have been a good idea, considering it would have been a chance to possibly make friends. Though Sakura decided not to. She was in no way able to make friends on her own, so she didn't think that she would be able to share her hobby with others. Despite all that, here she was, standing in front of a door in her junior high as she anxiously fiddled with her fingers for a moment. 

Just beyond that door was the yearbook club. Since their school didn’t have a photography club, this was the closest that she could get to having an outlet for her hobby. Considering it was her third-year in junior high, she didn't have that long before heading off to high school. So, wanting to venture out of her comfort zone for the first time ever, Sakura had thought about actually joining a club. Her chest was tight while she bounced on the balls of her feet slightly. She didn't know how people would react to her wanting to join the club, however, they would be nice, right? Gaining a new club member must be a good thing, so they couldn't just dismiss her or anything. 

"They're awesome, imouto!" She recalled her twin's words earlier that day when she expressed her worry to him. "They'll really like them!"

She took a deep breath at the reminder of her brother's reassuring words. Ever since she had thought about joining the club and told Shōyō about it, he had been extremely supportive of the idea. And he was right, her photos were decent, and people would surely like them. Besides, even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter, right? It would be fine if they didn't like them. Maybe they truly weren't good and Sakura could use this as an opportunity to improve whatever photography skills she had. So everything would be fine, she tried to calm herself down, talking to others about her hobby would be a good thing for her! Maybe she'll even make a few new friends through this.

With that thought in mind, Sakura raised a shaky fist to knock on the door. Her nerves were sky-high at the moment, though she pushed through any apprehension that she had and swallowed hard. She had done this for a reason, and she wasn't going to back out now! ...Even if she was becoming extremely anxious at the moment.

There was a short moment where all Sakura could hear was her beating heart in her ears before the door opened up. A boy with large, round glasses opened up the door and peered down at Sakura questioningly. She knew this boy, Sato Hitoshi, who was in her class and considered to be one of the smartest boys in their grade. Though there was no way that he could truly be the best, considering Sakura was his competition for the spot, and she had been on top for the past three years. This was probably why the boy was staring down at her with narrowed eyes. It was blatantly obvious that he disliked her solely on the fact that she was smarter than him. 

He was, by far, much taller than Sakura, as he was on the taller end of the students with a head of black hair and dull blue eyes. Sato pin-pointed her in her spot, and for a short moment, Sakura was scared at his judgemental stare, "Hinata."

"Sato," Sakura nodded her head at him and peeked around him to see into the club room, "this is the yearbook club, right?"

The boy clicked his tongue, "yes, and what do you want?"

From the slight bite in his tone, Sakura could already tell that this wasn't going to be as easy as she had thought. She fiddled with her camera and glanced off to the side, "I uh... I was wondering if I could join."

"Join?” The boy scoffed and pushed his glasses up his nose, “You want to join the club?"

Sakura swallowed slightly, "Yes... I-"

He cut her off, "Do you even know how to use a camera?"

"Well, yes." Sakura dully said as she motioned to the camera around her neck. "I have my own camera and I’ve been taking photos for a while now-”

Once again she was cut off by the snarky boy, “Then why haven’t you joined the club yet?”

Slowly but surely, Sakura was starting to become quite frustrated with Sato. Though that’s nothing new. She was used to having his jealousy clouding around her like a fog, it was almost always unavoidable. The only time that she could get away from Sato and his stupidly petty jealousy was breaktime when she’d go off to find her brother to eat with. Sakura knew how frustrated Sato was with her, as he’s made it clear plenty of times. He hated how Sakura could easily get good grades while seemingly having no motivation. He was jealous of how Sakura seemed to do nothing, and yet get the top spot in their class as the smartest student. 

Of course, this wasn’t true, as Sakura studied at any chance she could. Did she retain information easier than some people? Yes. Does that mean she didn’t have the motivation for her academic career? No, of course not. She just thought that it was all so stupid.

“I never thought to,” Sakura shrugged her shoulders, “Though I decided to try this year.”

Sato glowered down at her though there was a smug smile on his face. “Hm, and let’s see what the great Hinata clone is capable of with a camera.” He then grabbed Sakura’s camera from around her neck abruptly and began flipping through the photos on them.

Sakura tried to grab the camera back, but the boy just used his height to his advantage.  “Hey-!” She jumped and tried to take it back only to be pushed back by Sato who continued to look through the photos.

His eyebrows twitched as he looked through the photos. They ranged from photos of scenery or her family, and they were all so… good. Even if they were taken by a junior high schooler, they looked quite professional. Once again, that envy was building up in his gut. Not only was this short orange-haired girl smarter than him, but she was also a better photographer! He laughed bitterly, “These? Do you call these good?”

Sakura bristled, “Yes-”

“Ah,” Sato smirked and leered down at Sakura with narrowed eyes. “It seems like we’ve finally found something that Hinata Sakura sucks at! I mean, these are terrible!”

Even if she didn’t necessarily like Sato, Sakura still respected some things that he did. He is the second smartest person in their grade, and he had some good opinions that Sakura could agree with while in class. So for a moment, she was doubting her skills. If he was saying that they were terrible… were they really that bad? “They are…?”

Sato snickered snarkily, already seeing how he was slowly breaking down Sakura’s self esteem. “I feel kind of bad for you,” he shoved the camera back into Sakura’s hands. “You can’t even see how these photos are so mediocre. Well, I don’t think we need someone so horrible at photography in the club.” He sneered and walked Sakura out of the doorway, “We need people who actually have skill.” Sakura clenched her jaw in doubt while staring down at the camera in her hands. Was she really that bad at photography to not even be allowed in the photography club? Had her family been lying about her photos? Just saying they were good in order to not hurt her feelings? No… Maybe. Her family were just too nice sometimes, so maybe this was one of these times. “Stick to what you’re good at, being you twins stupid shadow.”

It was quiet for a while before she swallowed hard, “Right.” 

Should she have taken what he said to heart? Probably not. He was easily using this situation to exploit the one thing that Sakura couldn’t really help; self-doubt. She was already self conscious about her newest hobby because she wasn’t used to having something that was her own. So she doubted whether or not she was actually good at it. To hear someone she had just a small amount of respect for say that she was doing terrible certainly had shook her.

Without saying anything else, Sakura shuffled away from a far too smug Sato, who was more than happy that he had put Sakura down, even just a bit. So he just waltzed back into the club room, satisfied to have undermined Hinata Sakura in something. 

A heavy heart rested in Sakura’s chest as she lumbered down the hall. She felt like hiding, at least for a little bit. It was only the opinion of one person, but it still hurt her. Technically, he is the first person to see her pictures outside of her family. So for him to act like that and say that about her photography skills, she started to question herself. What if other people say the same? She could understand having criticism given about her photos, but what if someone else just said the same thing about them? Could she handle that? Sakura likes to think that she’s strong, mentally and physically(though she actually isn’t physically strong). Though there are moments of vulnerability from time to time. Being away from Shōyō does that to her, she couldn’t help it.

Though was it a surprise when her eyes started to become blurry and her nose started to run? Maybe. Sakura isn’t an emotional person, so for her to start crying over this meant that it affected her far more than she originally thought. The first time that she tried to be her own person and she’s belittled for it. She couldn’t get away from it, the reputation that she had. She’s just Shōyō’s shadow. Nothing else.

Eventually, Sakura finally came to a stop with her wandering. She settled down on a bench just outside her school and wallowed in her own pity. Her mind was racing with so many doubts and she felt like she was drowning. She’s never felt like this before. The weight in her stomach was just so… she couldn’t even describe it. Long story short, she felt heartbroken to think that people wouldn’t think that what she thought was good.

Though in the middle of her darkness, there was a shining light. “Imouto?” The sun was rising and lighting up the decrepit space that she had been dragged into. She looked up to find a matching pair of large brown eyes looking down to her. “Imouto, what are you doing out here?” Shōyō asked as he looked down at his twin. He had just been heading to the gym for his own practice and found Sakura sitting outside staring off into space. Since he didn’t know what had happened, the smile that he had on his face felt a bit mocking to his sister. “Did you go to the yearbook club? Did they like your photos?! I bet they did!”

Sakura quickly wiped her eyes to get rid of her tears. The last thing she needed was for Shōyō to see that she had been crying, he certainly would cause a fuss if he saw that. She swallowed and plastered on a faux smile, “I couldn’t find them. I guess they ended the club early today.”

Shōyō fell for her facade quite easily, he was idiotic enough to do so. He sat next to her with a questioning expression. “Are you still going to join the club?”

“No, I don’t think I’ll join.” Sakura instantly answered. She was in no way going to get in that club, or that she even wants to be in it. Her one time to leave her comfort zone was not a good experience. She just smirked slightly, “I’d rather be around you to take pictures of you getting hurt trying to play volleyball.”

Shōyō bristled, “I don’t always get hurt!”

“Most of the time you do,” Sakura chuckled while standing up from her spot and started to walk off. Shōyō quickly followed after, trying to dispute what Sakura had said about him getting hurt. Though it was true, Shōyō gets hurt quite easily while playing volleyball.

They then ventured off to the gym, where Shōyō would work on practicing with the girl’s team like he always does. Sakura didn’t want to burden her brother with the fact that she had been turned away and made fun of for her photographs. She would much rather keep it to herself than have Shōyō upset because of something as silly as her bruised feelings. Besides, it was her job to look out for him, not the other way around. Besides, why would she want to admit that she was pathetic enough to be so hurt by one simple encounter? She’s not the emotional twin, she’s the mature and responsible twin. Sakura couldn’t let herself get upset so easily after just one person’s opinion. She isn’t that fragile, or at least she won’t let people think that.

[variousqueerthings]

@elsonambulo this is iiiit, the thing they do that I’m obsessing over right now that you’re writing so deliciously (and so many writers are writing about so deliciously, seriously am living for it, like have y’all looked at this fic yet by SweetPollyOliver / @obstinatecondolement??!), where even though it’s love, they’re constantly fighting for who’s on top - Kreese used to be in-charge, the protector to Terry’s “Twig,” and now Kreese has nothing to offer, because Terry has everything

Like, yeah, he lets Terry take the reigns in TKK3, but before that he’s been paying rent even though, as Terry said, he bought the dojo it for him! And it’s love, but it’s also a power-play. 

I can imagine that he kind of likes Terry doing all of this torturing-a-teenager for him (although what would he think if he knew Terry’s feelings about Daniel...), insofar as he does want some kind of payback, although, not before Terry puts the idea in his head if I’m remembering correctly... the idea to hurt Daniel alll came from Terry, Kreese didn’t ask for his knuckles to bleed until way into planning... 

But maybe that’s the simple reason why the Cobra Kai “chain of dojos” disappeared afterwards, and the simple reason why Terry and Kreese disappeared out of Daniel’s life.

Getting banned from a single tournament shouldn’t stop them, but Kreese never wanted anything from Terry. He wanted to be with Terry, but not on his terms, on the old terms, when Terry was Twig and needed his help. 

When he says an old buddy offered him a job, I imagine Terry constantly having grand plans and “here’s how we bounce back” and Kreese is... just a guy. I presume he had the one dream (Cobra Kai) and it got destroyed through his own bullshit, but he’s damned if he’s going to be less of a man for that (and he’ll probably never tell Terry that they wouldn’t let him back into the army either). 

and the only way he can regain control is by cutting ties with Terry, even though he actually wants him. And Terry lets it happen, because the tighter he grips those reigns, the more Kreese slips through his fingers (and then there’s another HC I have that Terry’s kept tabs on him all these years as he was too proud/scared to ask for help, which I gueeess means he might know that Kreese got Cobra Kai back......) 

And now, finally, Kreese is calling him again. Kreese needs him again. I can fully imagine someone like Terry Silver waiting 35 years for that phonecall.

because the only way they can conceptualize their love for each other is through who has the most power. Who needs the other the most. 

and that dynamic is going to be put to the test when they’re in each others orbits again...

[tanzaniiite]

DAD BOD • SINGLE DAD DAICHI

requests: OPEN

warnings: body image insecurities

word count: 1.2k

series masterlist

a/n: this chapter takes place further in the future

please reblog and reply, engagement is both fun & important ✨

happy birthday to my favorite captain 🥳 and dad bod daichi ftw

“Hey, do have any idea where your father is?”

Suzuki, now sixteen-years-old, glanced at you from her spot on the couch. “No… I think he’s still in the bathroom” She replied watching as your eyes widened slightly in shock.

“Still? I swear if we lose this reservation—”

You muttered slightly, mainly to yourself, as you attempted to put your two-year-old son’s shoes on. “No shoes!” Seiji cried kicking his shoes off for the umpteenth time. You let out an exasperated sigh, it was times like this you wish your husband would help. Seiji admired his father to no end and practically only listened to him. When you found out you were having a boy, you thought he would be a mama’s boy by default. You were sorely mistaken, both Suzuki and Seiji were suckers for their dad. “Ji, please let mommy put on your shoes. Please?” You pleaded but the moment you saw the little pout appear, you knew you lost.

“No shoes!”

“It’s 18:30 (6:30)” 

Suzuki called out since you had asked her to keep track of time for you. What the hell is taking him so long? You thought, picking up Seiji and walking to the living room. “Thank you, watch your brother for me. I’m going to check on your dad and make sure he’s not dead” You quipped passing the toddler off to his sister, who welcomed him with open arms. “Hey stink bug, you know, if you don’t put on your shoes you won’t get chicken tenders” The teen fibbed as her brother gaped at her statement.

Knowing he was in good hands, you made your way upstairs to the bathroom. You knocked lightly before entering, “Hey diva, let’s wrap it up, please. I would like to not lose your birthday reservation” You stated, hands on your hips. Normally, Sawamura would let out a small chuckle at your bossiness and tease you on your insistent need to be on time but today, you were met with nothing. “Sorry.. I must’ve lost track of time,” Daichi apologized before turning to you, “how do I look?” He inquired.

You smiled slightly as you looked him over. Daichi was wearing a simple black button-down, paired with matching black slacks and a red tie pulled the whole look together. You always did like how he looked in black. Moving closer to him, you started fixing his crooked tie. “Other than your tie being crooked… you look incredibly handsome” You complimented undoing the tie to retie it.

“Really? Are you sure?”

That question made you freeze. You glanced up at your husband, who wasn’t even looking at you but in the mirror instead. His brown eyes looked downcast as he looked over his appearance. You were quickly able to deduce what this was about, granted you use to ask Sawamura the same thing for months after your son was born. After having Seiji, your body wasn’t the same, most of the baby weight you were able to shed but some remained. You had stretch marks seemingly everywhere. That first year wasn’t the best for you but Daichi was there. Always reassuring you that you were beautiful both with and without your stretch marks. That gaining weight was normal after having a child and that a little more weight never hurt anyone.

You wanted to be the same pillar he was for you. 

“What do you mean? Of course, you look handsome,” You claimed looking at him, “do you think otherwise?” You asked raising an eyebrow. Daichi chuckled nervously, he knew how gung ho you were about body positivity and how you hated when others looked down on themselves. He knew he (especially) wasn’t exempt from that. “I… I don’t know, don’t I look.. bigger?” He questioned rubbing the back of his neck.

Turning your attention to the mirror, you knew what he was talking about. Daichi didn’t have the same body he had in high school or even the same body he had in his twenties, duh. Weight is a fickle thing that fluctuates any chance it gets. It also comes with age, you both were way past your twenties and well into your late thirties - early forties. It’s only natural that his body changed, you would be concerned if it hadn’t. You finished tying his tie and walked behind him. Sawamura looked at you as he watched you in the mirror. After wrapping your arms around his torso you spoke,

“Yeah but that’s okay”

“But it looks weird”

“I think it looks hot”

You smirked as Daichi’s cheeks flushed slightly. Good to know that after all these years you could still fluster him. However, his somber mood was quick to return. “Wouldn’t you prefer if I had my more fit body? Like how I was in high school? Or even when we reconnected?” Sawamura asked turning back to look at you. You decided to answer his question with a question, “Do you prefer how I looked before I had Seiji?” You inquired. Daichi’s eyebrow’s furrowed, “What? Of course not—” He started quickly taking your hands into his own.

“Did you like me better without the dozens of stretch marks? Without the baby weight?”

“Y/n, what are you talking about? No, you’re gorgeous just as you are. Before and after Seiji”

You hummed slightly, “Then why would I prefer high school you over current you? Hm?” You questioned crossing your arms over your chest. It took Daichi a second before he started laughing slightly. It didn’t take long before you joined him, “See what I did there?” You laughed. Your husband nodded, running his fingers through his hair, “Yes. I see what you did” He chuckled. You smiled slightly, glad to see him smiling. You pulled him down by the tie and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. “Daichi, I love you for you. I don’t care what you look like, although your looks did play a minor part” You teased pinching his cheek. Daichi just shook his head, “Thank you, love, I needed that,” He claimed pulling you into an embrace that you happily returned.

“Where did this come from anyway?”

“I guess from looking in the mirror too long and..”

“And?”

“It’s embarrassing”

“Hun, we’ve been together for five years and known each other for longer, try me”

Your husband sighed dejectedly and mutter something under his breath. You raised an eyebrow and gave him a look. “I said; Seiji called me a teddy bear the other day” He mumbled not looking in your direction. You couldn’t help but laugh, “That’s so cute! Aw, I’m going to call you teddy bear from now on” You stated a wide smile adorning your face. Daichi ran a hand over his face, attempting to hide his smile, “Please don’t” He pleaded. Before you could even answer, a loud knock interrupted.

“I don’t know what you guys are doing and I don’t want to know but it’s almost 19:00 (7:00)”

Daichi glanced at you, “Isn’t the reservation for 19:30 (7:30)?”. You sighed and closed your eyes in realization, “Yes. Yes it is” You confirmed. 

“Also, Ji will not put on his shoes for whatever reason”

Suzuki added. You were on the brink of melting down, Sawamura could see that. You worked so hard to get a reservation at a restaurant that was fully booked all year long just for his birthday. And the fact that your two-year-old won’t put on his shoes was pushing you dangerously close to the edge of a breakdown, was downright embarrassing. 

“…I could put on my sirens to get us there faster”

You looked at your husband, your eyes filled to the brink with love.

“I love you so fucking much”

taglist [open]: @mus1caln0tes @awh-bliss @i-am-trying-i-promise @tsukkisfatsimp @elianetsantana

tanzaniiite © 2020 — all rights reserved. do not repost, modify, or copy. do not plagiarize. thank you.

[griffinsmith]

another jackerita au post ?? but from margherita's perspective this time ... i have been ignoring her for too long margherita babey im sorry

its been like a year and a half since I came up with this stupid au and ive never once made a written post that’s mostly about margherita’s role in the jackerita au. That is criminal and im fixing that now sorry girlboss. Also she deserves a bigger role in the plot in general so !!! heres whatever this is

For just some backstory on her: Margherita has literally 4 lines of dialogue so there is not much to go off of for her help me. She says she is a master of the opera nova school of Valencia so Ive always headcanoned that she, just like she says, works at said opera nova school. She has quite the set of pipes and is an incredible opera singer, along with being an expert duelist. Margherita is quite proficient in the art of the sword (again, just like how she says in the battle with her) and when she’s not teaching her students how to sing, she’s teaching them how to duel

One of Margherita’s cheats states that she’s studied in Crab Alley, so I’m going to take that and run with it. Margherita not only studied there, but she also spent some time traveling the spiral before settling in Crab Alley as her place to study music (essentially she took a gap year). This traveling happened right after she finished her primary schooling (with crab alley being where she spent the majority of her secondary schooling) and while she toured the spiral, she visited Marleybone, and guess who she ran into there.

Margherita and Jackall first ran into each other in their late teens/very early twenties (think 19 or 20. Wow just like my age fr), bumping into each other in the Ironworks. Jackall was looking for some scrap metal for an automaton he was creating, as he was just starting his secondary schooling to become a mechanical engineer, and Margherita was just plain lost while trying to sightsee. The two got along swimmingly, bonding over their aspirations that others had frowned upon: Jackall was hoping to land a job at Barkingham Palace as their head of defense, and Margherita wanted to become the most famous opera singer Valencia had ever known. Once their conversation had ended, they promised to keep in touch after some time spent together.

And keep in touch they did, writing letters often, and Jackall frequently making his way across the spiral to see Margherita’s opera performances and Margherita visiting him in Marleybone every so often. Both were extremely supportive of each other’s achievements in their careers.

About ten years pass between the two of them meeting and the events of Barkingham Palace. Margherita has a well-established teaching spot in the Opera Nova school of Valencia, loved by her students and fellow faculty members, and can duel the pants off of anyone she fights. She enjoys reveling in her stories of her time at Opera Nova to Jackall when they visit each other.

Jackall, on the other hand, has gone from just as enthusiastic as she over his job to being bummed out. His passion for inventing mechanical creations to better defend the palace seems to have been dampened by his fellow Barkingham staff members who prefer traditional guards to the palace rather than his automatons. For as long as Margherita can remember, Jackall has always been enamored with the concept of bettering oneself and the things around oneself, and it appears as though he hasn’t gotten to dip his toes into this concept in a while. The spark she once saw in his eyes diminishes a little bit more every time she visits him.

Margherita doesn’t quite get losing your passion for something. Until the Opera Nova school starts rearranging its budget. Teachers stop getting pay raises, student size shrinks, facilities aren’t updated. When Margherita and her fellow teachers try to get those in charge to do something, they respond that they’re already doing all they can to keep the school above water. Margherita is heartbroken that the students she’s loved teaching and watching grow into real opera performers begin to lose their love for their study, and can’t help but feel like she herself is losing her love for it, too.

Margherita relays all this information to Jackall during one of her visits to Marleybone. During this visit, for once, it seems like their demeanors have switched. Margherita cannot remember the last time she’s seen Jackall this energized, full of life. It’s like he’s 5 years younger, the look in his eyes gives away that he’s bounding with a new passion for everything. Margherita cannot quite place why.

That is, until he tells her that he’s come up with something incredible. He describes to her a new concoction he’s made for himself – one that makes him stronger and pumps the adrenaline through his system like nothing else. He’s finally reignited his passion for life again, he tells her, but he adds that he cannot keep his creation’s effects going for very long. But even still, he’s able to do things he never could do without it.

Jackall is purposefully very vague with his descriptions of what his potion does. He sells the creation off as something that energizes and makes you stronger, like what the potion was supposed to do, but he never once mentions that the damn thing makes him turn into a more selfish aggressive version of himself - That’s tucked quietly under the rug. As I mentioned in this post, Jackall is so tired of working at Barkingham and not getting to do what he wants that he’s willing to permanently turn himself into a more grotesque version of himself if it means that he can get what he wants (nevermind that this would mean that he would be hound forever and would never go back to being anything more than an unshowered impulsive violent mirror version of himself. Jackall come on why didn’t you think this through). The point is, Margherita never learned about Hound before the heist.

Margherita is happy that Jackall found something that excites him, but she wonders why he’s telling her this. Why does he want to turn into a different version of himself full time? She likes him how he is. But she does soon get her answer.

Jackall proposes to her that she and he go on a heist together: Steal the Queen’s jewels. It’ll be a grand adventure for them, some bonding! Margherita can use her superior dueling skills to best the dreary guards at the palace while Jackall takes the jewels to perfect his alchemical solution and become his ‘best self’ forevermore.

Margherita’s not super on board with the idea (stealing the queen’s jewels? When did jackall get that idea?). She’s participated in her own fair share of duels in back alleys, and she’s even stolen some gold before when she was in a pinch, but both of those experiences were far in the past. She’s a respected faculty member for one of the most famous schools in Valencia, she cannot just go galivanting around and get her face slapped onto a wanted poster.

Or so she thinks at first. After turning Jackall’s proposal down, she thinks that’ll be the end of that. Until Jackall lets slip that he’d let her keep the jewels after perfecting his chemical solution. The jewels that adorn the Queen’s crown would fetch quite a pretty penny on the black markets of Valencia, wouldn’t they? And that money could be used as a charitable donation to Margherita’s beloved Opera Nova school, Jackall adds. As soon as the heist is complete and Jackall’s become his better self, he promises he’ll let Margherita take the stolen gems and do whatever she wants with them.

The proposition now seems much more interesting to Margherita. Using the hefty sum the stolen stones would get her, Margherita could breathe new life into the school she loves so much. The crumbling fixtures in classrooms could be restored, higher paychecks would be written for teachers, and new students would practically flood the gates to get in! And hey, why not go on a heist adventure with her closest friend? She trusts him a whole lot, and she knows he trusts her back. After a quick moment of reconsideration, Margherita accepts Jackall’s plan. She’s in.

Also quick note on the whole ‘jackall calling margherita his “Lieutenant” thing’: there’s not really much to say here other than Margherita was certainly jackall’s right hand (wo)man throughout the barkingham heist since she did a lot of the string pulling with him to make it happen. Jackall calls her his lieutenant because it sounds more official than just calling her his ‘person who’s got his back’.

For two weeks, the two work together to concoct a plan to break into the palace (Margherita extends her stay in Marleybone and plans to return back to Valencia as soon as the jewels are hers). As someone who works in the palace, Jackall is able to bring any news of new developments to Margherita for them to brainstorm a way to steal the queen away while everyone in the palace is distracted. Jackall offers they use a noxious gas spewing golem he’d never gotten to use as a palace defense mechanism to render the palace’s guards defenseless, and when Margherita hears from him that an opera singer will be performing at the palace soon, she suggests they bribe said performer into allowing them to sneak in with her crew.

The plan falls into place quite nicely, with Margherita and Jackall working to secure some additional goons to help them with the heist. Margherita works on getting Catrin Cheshire bribed (from one opera singer to another) and Jackall hires Poole and Utterson as back up for the airship’s defenses. Everything looks like itll be going according to plan.

Until it doesn’t. Jackall and Margherita hadn’t accounted for Bones and Watson patrolling the scene, and a wrench gets thrown in their plans when the Young Wizard shows up. Margherita stays positioned on the rooftop the entire night as Jackall carries out the queen kidnapping, and nervously sharpens her swords as more and more cops pour into the palace. Then, when Jackalls finally loaded the Queen into the airship, the young wizard arrives and Margherita faces off with them. Filled with determination and knowing Jackall will defend her if anything goes awry, she battles her heart out.

And as we all know, the young wizard defeats her. This was already unexpected for Margherita, but the most unexpected part was Jackall turning against her. As she catches her breath after the fight, she hears him ascending the ladder to the airship, * without her *, and yelling at her that she’s disappointed him and that he sarcastically hopes she enjoys Newgate. Margherita barely has time to process what just happened when the Barkingham guard arrives on the rooftop and places her in handcuffs, but she has enough time to tell the Young Wizard to go after Jackall.

During the journey from the palace to Newgate, Margherita is seething enough to the point where if you put sand in her mouth and gave it a second, it would have turned into glass. Her life as she knew it would never be the same, and she’d never be able to go back to teaching at the Opera Nova – they would not approve of a wanted criminal who assisted in a queen kidnapping teaching students. Sure, she was mad at getting caught, but she was mostly enraged at jackall up and abandoning her. It.. hurt. This heist was supposed to be something they were doing together, and for her to leave her in the dust the second she loses one duel … it’s not sitting well with her. The decade of friendship and mutual trust the two had for each other is shattered instantly with this moment. Margherita never wants to see Jackall again.

So imagine Margherita’s surprise when Jackall gets tossed into a jail cell right next to hers. Upon seeing her, Jackall quickly blubbers out an excuse and a half assed apology. Margherita decides to ignore this and grabs Jackall’s neck through the jail bars and strangles him until the guards pull them off each other. Jackall earns a well-deserved black-eye during this skirmish and it does not leave for two weeks.

After few months into their life sentences, Jackall does give Margherita an actual apology and tells her how sorry he truly is, how he should never have let something as stupid as his chemicals get in the way of their friendship, how he doesn’t quite know what got ahold of him. He says he was so focused on achieving his best self that he let everything else fall to the wayside. He asks her if she’d be willing to break out of Newgate together, and she begrudgingly accepts, giving him a second chance. It'll take a while before she can fully trust him again, but she's willing to give it a shot, and Jackall is extremely grateful for this. Secretly, she's glad to have her friend back.

From here the au is basically the same as before from Margherita’s side. The two break out of jail, live in the shopping district, and stuff goes on from there. The only change is that Jackall is still struggling with nightmares of Hound threatening to take over, but he does not tell this to Margherita. She still thinks the potion he made gave him boosted stats and power, and nothing else. Even in Jackall’s genuine apology to her, he did not let slip that the adrenaline from becoming his alter ego clouded his best judgement and hopes that she’ll never find out about Hound, especially not in their new lives in Wizard city.

We’ll see how well that works out . anyway that’s it that’s way too many words oh my god

[chilling-seavey]

Seasons Change (d.s.) - ONE

↳  A/N This one already holds a special place in my heart and it has barely even begun! Might be a bit slower on updates because I want to make sure it’s perfect for us all. Thank you to @stuffofseaveyy for your unwavering help with plotting this storyline out, @randomlimelightxxx for your excitement and help, and of course, @jonahlovescoffee​ for being my hype girl and the best mayor’s wife anyone could ask for ;)

↳ Summary: Everyone knows everything about everyone in this small rural town in east Connecticut and the handsome single father who owns the farm down the main street seems to always be the talk of the town. Balancing the care of his acreage, raising his school-age son, and coaching the local boys’ hockey team keeps Daniel busy; but his mind never strays far from the expansive and vibrant flower gardens planted outside his farmhouse.

↳ Word Count: 2520

↳ Warnings: This story touches on topics such as loss of loved ones and grief. Nothing too detailed but read at your own discretion x

If you weren’t looking, you would miss it. An hour-and-a-half drive east of Hartford, Connecticut rested a small town that barely occupied more than an intersection of space in time. On your way east towards state lines, a rectangular green sign half covered by an oak tree would welcome you to Lincoln – Population: 200. You’d leave the town before you even realized you were in it if you weren’t paying attention but maybe that’s how the locals liked it.

People moved to Lincoln to get away from the bustle of the city…it was full of those people who had ‘let’s ditch this town’ mindsets and set down roots in a section of the world where they wouldn’t be bothered. It was the type of town that lived in the lyrics of a country song: picture perfect homegrown peace where everyone knew everyone and everyone had a place. It was easy to know everyone in a town like Lincoln. Driving in from the city you would pass a white paneled church, a few small single storey houses with lengthy driveways, the red trimmed general store, a brick sided restaurant, a run down and rusted mechanic’s shop, and catch a glimpse of the small community center just past the park before being enveloped by the nothingness that middle-of-nowhere Connecticut was known for.

Not much happened in Lincoln – at least nothing that was worth noting. Sometimes a car would break down and a city dweller in a designer suit would find his way to the general store to ask for assistance or, more often, a coyote would be rumoured to be roaming at night but that was the extent of the excitement. The most exciting thing to do outside of day to day work was play hockey and it seemed to be the town’s pride and joy of a pastime. There was no such thing as ‘hockey season’ as hockey season was year round in the small town of Lincoln, Connecticut. The community center housed an ice rink that could be melted down to a basketball court but everyone stayed for the hockey. The Lincoln Lighting Junior and Senior leagues were usually the talk of the town. The school-aged boys (ages 7-13) played for the juniors and the later teens and most of the fathers played for the senior league. The captain of the senior league was the coach of the juniors and he owned one of the few farms a few paces north of the main intersection.

A father of one and the best hockey player Lincoln had ever seen, Daniel Seavey was more than one could expect from a small town man.

He wasn’t your everyday potato farmer with uneven tan lines or a body that housed more beer than muscle and, in fact, he was the talk and the eye candy of the town. At only twenty-nine, Daniel was the best of the best in Lincoln: best hockey player, best coach, best farmer, best guitarist, best father; and he had the sandy brown hair and sky blue eyes of a heartbreaker to top it all. At six feet tall, Daniel was slim and handsome, and yet had the muscles capable of running a farm and shooting slapshots like you wouldn’t believe. Daniel was quiet and polite and he innocently humoured the wives of the town as they flirted with him in front of their unimpressed husbands.

But no one could be mad at Daniel. Not when he was the first and only widow Lincoln had ever seen.

Marigold Seavey was twenty-six when she died in her bed at their farmhouse in the early hours of the morning. Her passing was the first major event to ever shake the town of Lincoln. Everyone knew everyone in this town and, that being said, everyone knew what a sunshiny soul Marigold was. Daniel, especially, seemed to have his light burnt out once she was buried behind the church at the corner of town. Some of the folks in town will tell you that the saddest sight they had ever seen was Daniel standing at the foot of his wife’s grave after the funeral with his six-year-old son holding his hand and the two of them crying silent tears into the fresh fall soil.

Despite Daniel’s quiet persona, he was strong and he knew he had to be for the sake of his young son. He couldn’t wallow in his grief for long since he had a son to raise and a farm to tend to and the generosity of the townsfolk certainly helped him to stay on his feet after his wife passed.

It had been a year-and-a-half since Marigold died. Daniel had just turned twenty-nine as March moulded into April and the winter chill was starting to fade into spring and the second birthday without her wasn’t any easier. The birthday cake baked by his neighbour wasn’t as delicious as Marigold’s classic lemon cake she would make him every year but he politely thanked the woman and dared not complain. Daniel would never complain over the niceties of the townsfolk.

That’s what came with living in such a small town; everyone had everyone’s back.

It was the first Sunday of April and the first truly nice spring day of the year. With a crisp breeze in the air, it was only just warm enough to discard the winter jackets and most of the town was gathered in the large backyard of the mayor’s house for the usual after-church brunch. On the colder Sundays, brunch was held in the main restaurant but everyone preferred to gather in the fresh air and over the crisp green grass of the mayor’s house as soon as the weather permitted.

The mayor’s house was the largest and had the most land outside of the farms that were just north of the main intersection in town. Jonah – known by the locals as such since he didn’t like the formality that came with the title of ‘Mayor Frantzich’ – and his wife Jocelyn kept a pretty house on the edge of the little town. They could be what you call the ideal small town family with two kids, a dog, and white picket fence – enough backyard space for it to be the perfect spot for weekly brunch.

The town children had space to play and stretch their legs after sitting for an hour in church and the yard was filled with the shouts from their games. The adults lingered around the yard in various little circles, nursing freshly squeezed orange juice in spring-themed clear plastic cups and talking amongst themselves.

Daniel did a lot of listening during Sunday brunches, standing amidst one of the groups of parents as they talked about school, clubs, and work. Marigold was always the chatty one of the two of them…without her, Daniel felt out of place.

“What about you, Daniel? Think the frost will be gone to break ground this week?”

Jack spoke first, a shorter man with unruly brown hair and enough tattoos to surprise anyone with the fact that he raised an apple orchard. He owned the farm beside Daniel’s and was one of his closest friends in the town.

Daniel thought for a moment and scuffed the toe of his dress shoe against the grass. The cold ground was still pretty solid and the chill in the air still had them all wearing blazers over their Sunday button-ups.

“Only if this cold front lets up.” Daniel answered. “I’m hoping to plough by next week at the latest.”

“Everything’s been going well with the farm and your boy?” Jonah asked, his hand tucked around his wife’s waist and he raised his opposite hand to his mouth to sip his juice.

Daniel shifted on his feet and gave a shrug, his eyes drifting past the group of parents to easily pick out his shaggy haired brunette son across the yard with the rest of the kids. At almost eight-years-old, Lennox was the light of Daniel’s life; his little hockey star, helping hand, and the one whom his late wife’s smile and spirit lived on in. It had been a hard year-and-a-half for the two Seavey boys but Daniel was relived that he could hear his son laugh again, his audible glee reaching to the far edges of the mayor’s property and to his father’s ears.  

“It’s been…fine.” Daniel sighed, his eyes lingering on his son as he answered Jonah’s question, “Lennox has been doing well…his grades are better this year which I’m relieved about. I just…I already sold the sheep and half the chickens and the second cow last spring to try and tame some of the workload but it’s still a lot.”

“Running a farm on your own isn’t easy.” Jack said, “I know how much work it takes for two owners let alone one.”

“We’re here to help with whatever you need.” Corbyn assured him. “I can give you deals on whatever you need from the shop as often as I can.”

Corbyn owned the general store in the center of town and was the bachelor of Lincoln. It wasn’t like there were any women to date in such a small place full of cookie cutter rural families but Corbyn was very happy as he was: running the store and being the eyes and ears of the town.

Daniel shut down his generous offer politely as he looked back to his friends, “No, no. I don’t want that…thank you though. I’m just worried the garden will suffer. With so much to do with ploughing and planting and coaching…I don’t know how much time I’ll have for the flowers.” Daniel let his gaze drift back to his son playing across the grass, “Lennox is too young to tend to them himself but he loves the gardens so much so I don’t want yet another thing to disappoint him.”

“Have you thought of hiring someone?” Jonah asked.

“Like a gardener?” Daniel hummed, “I dunno.”

Corbyn sipped his drink, “Is it in the budget?”

“I think so.” Daniel shrugged, swirling his orange juice in his hand. “Never thought about it. Mari always took care of the flowers so…”

“I have a family friend who’s pretty good with gardens…I’m sure she’d be more than happy to help out.” Jocelyn offered.

Daniel chuckled under his breath, “That’s…a nice offer but I’m not looking to put anyone out of their way. They’re just flowers after all.”

But everyone knew that they weren’t just flowers to Daniel. They were Marigold’s flowers.

Jack tisked at Daniel’s hesitation, “Well if it’s in your budget to hire a gardener and you know the gardens are important to Lennox and yourself, then why not give it a try? You don’t have anything to lose.”

Jonah only added onto the argument, “She’s been wanting to come visit Lincoln for a while now. Why don’t we invite her to town and she can stay with us and you can give her a look over…if you think you want to hire her then you can.”

Daniel thought about it for a moment, taking a sip of his juice as his eyes found his son again. It was habit. Lennox was already running for him at top speed across the grass and Daniel set his cup down on the table just in time to welcome his seven-year-old’s energetic jump at him. He scooped him up with one arm and a tired grunt as he hiked him up onto his waist and Lennox held onto him around his neck, giggling as the other kids ran over after him.

“Daddy’s safe. You can’t get me.” Lennox told them matter-of-factly.

Daniel smiled proudly and linked his hands under his son’s bum to hold him up securely. At almost eight, Lennox was a bit heavy to hold but after nine years of farm work and working out for hockey, it wasn’t much of an issue for Daniel to hold him. He’d never complain regardless.

The other kids found their parents, gladly taking sips of juice or pieces of cut up fruit after a tiring chase around the yard. Jonah and Jocelyn’s seven-year-old twins found their way between them and helped themselves to the few snacks on the table. They were the closest to Lennox’s age – although a few months younger – and the boy of the set of fraternal twins was on the junior hockey team with him.

With the parents busy for a moment with their children – Jack was helping to fasten his daughter’s curly hair back in her headband – Daniel pondered the previous offer. His son rested his head against his with his small arms slung around his neck and Daniel could feel each of his gentle breaths rising and falling his chest. Everything Daniel did was for Lennox. He bit his lip.

“No rush.” Jocelyn said to him, reassuring their offer as if she could see his hesitation, “Just let us know.”

“Thank you.” Daniel said honestly.

“The Herron’s are coming over.” Corbyn whispered to the group and right away they shifted awkwardly as the family approached. Daniel let out an anticipatory sigh.

If you ever thought of jealousy, you would think of Zach Herron; father of two boys who weren’t very good at hockey and husband to a wife whose eyes liked to linger on Daniel’s biceps a little too much. Zach envied a lot of Daniel…maybe even envied him that his wife was dead. He would never admit that out loud though.

“Seavey.” Zach greeted as his family approached the group with his petite platinum blonde wife on his arm. He glanced around to the others, “And friends.”

There was a dull chorus of replies.

Zach continued, “I’m still willing to buy your horses off you. You know I have a generous price to offer.” 

Daniel chuckled lightly, “Yes, I know. But the horses are not for sale and they never will be.”

“Daniel would sell his house before he sells those horses.” Jack said. The group laughed lightly at the truth behind that. 

Lennox wiggled from Daniel’s arms and he set him down to join up with the two Herron boys who had just come over. The children gathered together at the other side of the table and chatted excitedly. Daniel picked up his orange juice.

“Daniel,” Zach’s wife set a hand on his bicep, her face filled with nothing but dramatic concern, “how are you holding up?”

“I’m doing fine, Katie, thank you.” Daniel replied politely.

She sighed, “It would just be a terrible shame to see your beautiful gardens go to waste; I overheard you talking about it from over there. Please let me know if I can help in any way.”

Zach’s annoyed scoff had Jack smirking into his orange juice. Corbyn and Jonah exchanged amused glances between themselves. Daniel offered Zach’s wife a small polite smile.

“That’s very nice of you to offer, but Jonah and Jocelyn already offered a family friend who’s in the business.” Daniel looked over at the couple again, with slight thankfulness in his eyes, “And I think I will gladly take them up on that recommendation.”

Seasons Change Taglist: @stuffofseaveyy @randomlimelightxxx @jonahlovescoffee @hiya-its-amber @hopinglimelight @midnightpsychic @sbrewer21 @bessonsbxtch @viamiasoncrack @the-girl-who-cried-wolf

Please click the link in my bio to be added to the taglist!

[unforth]

Could you elaborate on the parallels between the Scorpion and his dad and WKX and Purple Danger? I find that thought really interesting! <3

Oh my god you're asking me for meta? No one asks me for meta!!! Getting this made me so happy, thank you! And yes, I'd be delighted to!

Lemme preface this by saying: I have not read the book, and I've only seen episodes 1 through 27, and while I do know some spoilers for past what I've seen, I don't know everything, and I obviously can't speak to changes in dynamics that may happen past what I've watched.

So, I noted in this post that I felt like I'd just gotten slapped in the face by the parallels between Zhao Jing, and his relationship with Xie-er, and Wen Kexing, and his relationship and Gu Xiang. Specifically, the lines in episode 26 that caught me were these:

And the contrasts and similarities that they drew to these scene from Episode 24, which I watched yesterday:

(all screen caps are by me - I won’t have more screen caps just cause I really don’t have time to hunt them all down, I’m sorry, but the first two were easy to grab, and the second two I’d already taken cause that scene really got to me yesterday).

These lines, coming only two episodes apart, seemed like a really stark and deliberate effort to show a connection in the attitudes of Zhao Jing and Wen Kexing. They've also got some similarities in the childhood/history that got them to this point: Zhao Jing's family was fallen from grace, as was Wen Kexing's. Both are noted as seeming different from the "regular" people around them - Wen Kexing, it's explicit; with Zhao Jing, it's more how others seem to behave around him. It's harder to get a sense of Zhao Jing, since his own self-report is so dubious and the flashbacks we get to the Rong Xuan era are all given from the perspective of different unreliable narrators, whereas Wen Kexing's memories seem fairly intact (well, water of forgetfulness aside) and match the other remembrances we get of the same scenes.

With those similar, dubious foundations, they both resolve from a young age to take revenge for the perceived slights committed against them - and both have decided that regardless of who the specific instigators are for their suffering, they have no compunction about involving innocents as a whole. Zhao Jing wants the power he feels has been denied to him, and sets about conspiring to get that power. To achieve that, he sets about on a course that involves lying and using literally everyone who can help him. Likewise, while I'm still definitely missing some damn important of Wen Kexing's backstory (starting with, who protected the dog for him, and how he went from "kid getting regularly beaten by the previous ghost king" to "adult who is said to have literally eaten the previous ghost king"), he also clearly sets out to gain power through whatever means he can, and to survive, though from the get-go, his goal is essentially the inverse of Zhao Jing's: Zhao Jing wants to lift himself up, and sees nothing but virtue in doing so; Wen Kexing wants to bring everyone else down, and knows he's damned through-and-through for it.

(They're parallels, not matches, just to be clear! It's not that I'm saying everything is the same - on the contrary, it's the differences that makes it so intriguing).

Now, then, at some point relatively early in this entire process, each of these young men found a child. Given that Xie’er and Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishou are of the same generation, presumably they’re all around the same age - 27 or so - and also presumably, the previous generation were all in their late teens to early twenties when they had their own disastrous round of adventuring. So, if Xie’er is, say, 25, and Zhao Jing was probably around 20 (since he was one of the younger folks in the flashbacks), and 20 years have passed, and Xie’er was probably around the same age as child Wen Kexing when he was found? (I don’t know, and I don’t know if that’s ever established, sorry) So around 7? Then we’ve Xie’er being adopted by Zhao Jing and Wen Kexing being adopted by the Ghost King, each almost exactly 20 years ago. Presumably, also, Zhao Jing marries...drat, I can’t remember her name...was it Li Yao or something???...right around the same time - hence why Xie’er would think of her as a mother. Anyway, sorry, I’m really tired and I just lost the thread slightly, but the point is: a 20-or-so-year-old Zhao Jing finds a young Xie’er; and a few years later, a likely-early-teens-aged Wen Kexing finds a toddler Gu Xiang (because Wen Kexing is 27 now, and Gu Xiang is I’m guessing around 18, and she’s likely 3ish when Wen Kexing finds her, so that’d make her 3 or 4, and him 12 or 13). 

And here’s where the parallels really show the essential differences between these men, despite the areas of commonality in the hate they hold toward the world and their desire to see the world brought low.

Because, given a small child, Wen Kexing’s immediate, clear thought is: I will never let this child experience what I have been through. Now, he’s busted, and he’s crazy, so from that point of view, he still does her harm: she thinks of murder as nothing (as does Xie’er) for example. But even in that, the motivations are different. Gu Xiang says it herself after she kills the beggar and Cao Weining confronts her about it: if a person is out to harm her, if a person even might harm her, isn’t she justified in killing him? If that isn’t the quintessential Wen Kexing lesson right there, I don’t know what is: “Gu Xiang, you don’t kill because I tell you to, and you don’t kill for fun, and you don’t kill for no reason - but the moment, the very instant, you have a reason? Don’t hesitate, because if you do, you’ll be the corpse, not them.” Everything Wen Kexing teachers Gu Xiang is with the aim of helping her survive in the cruelest environment in the world, one that has flayed him and raked him over the coals over and over and over again. Further, despite the hints I’ve seen so far that he has early allies at Mount Qingya (Tragicomic Ghost has been shown to at minimum pity him, and find him an odd curiosity), Wen Kexing entrusts no one else with the most vulnerable creature who has ever come into his life (well, aside from that adorable puppy, which I have the bad feeling is going to be shown to be horribly murdered before his eyes, possibly by his own hand to prove a point...that would be thematically appropriate...). He gives Gu Xiang the tools to survive and fight for herself, even against him, and when she even begins to suggest she might prefer to be somewhere else - when he sees evidence of her finding happiness - he does everything he can to encourage her joy, support her happy ending, and free her. Wen Kexing is Gu Xiang’s father, in every useful interpretation of the term - she may call him master, and others might call her his maid, but their relationship is tender, encouraging, mutually supportive, and loving. Wen Kexing wants what is best for Gu Xiang, even at the expense of his own comfort and happiness, because he cares for her that essentially and deeply - and she likewise goes out of her way to protect him more than once.

MEANWHILE.

Given a small child, though I haven’t yet seen any flashbacks to when Xie’er was little and I don’t even know if there are any, it’s really obvious that Zhao Jing instantly goes, “how can I best use this to my advantage?” Instead of setting about to build this child up to be a functional adult who can stand up to the challenges that threatened to crush Zhao Jing’s life, Zhao Jing deliberately sabotages Xie’er’s ability to function as an independent unit. He teachers Xie’er to kill, not to protect himself, but on command - to kill because Zhao Jing says so, who Zhao Jing says, on even the merest whim, and is so successful at doing so that Xie’er has even less respect for life than Zhao Jing does (which was never much to begin with). Further, while we know that Wen Kexing will kill to protect Gu Xiang, Zhao Jing never so much as lifts a finger to do his own dirty work, and has zero compunction about throwing Xie’er under the bus when he suits his ends. In 27, he flat out says - “if you keep acting like this, and kill the Gentle Wind Sect, you’ll ruin me - which means I can never let you stand next to me in public.” He says this when he knows that Xie’er craves his approval and that one of Xie’er’s most cherished objects in all he’s done is to reach a point where he can stand at Zhao Jing’s shoulder as an acknowledged heir and successor and proudly say, “yes, I did all those things to help my father, because I’m a good son.” Further, Zhao Jing is constantly abusive and manipulative. When Xie’er does what Zhao Jing has trained him to do, on command (like a dog? more parallels??), Zhao Jing praises him, touches him kindly (and when else do you think Xie’er is ever getting touched kindly? Nothing like the casual and appropriate physical intimacy with which Wen Kexing and Gu Xiang shoulder bump and interact) and tells him how precious he is. The instant Xie’er steps a toe out of line, Zhao Jing denigrates him, threatens to take away that which Xie’er most wants (acknowledgement), scolds him, calls him a fool, says he doesn’t understand. Zhao Jing calls Xie’er his son, and insists that Xie’er call him yifu, and the world may even see that way - though they hardly can, since Zhao Jing refuses to be publicly associated with Xie’er - but they couldn’t be less related when compared to Wen Kexing, who allows all to see him call Gu Xiang his servant even as he flagrantly, publicly, repeatedly treats her as his child - culminating in the speech he gives Cao Weining when he gives permission for them to wed.

Everything Wen Kexing does, as fucked up as some of it is, is done with the aim of building Gu Xiang up into a strong, independent, functional adult who is less stained than himself and capable of pursuing happiness in the world.

And everything Zhao Jing does, all of which is equally if not more fucked up than what Wen Kexing does, is done with the aim of tearing Xie’er down, making him a powerful tool - a trained dog, if you will - and a dependent person who can be deployed on an enemy and must be kept permanently off-balance so that he never ever is an independent, functional adult - and, to help ensure that, he deliberately orders Xie’er to commit depraved acts that guarantee that Xie’er is more stained than himself, and therefore incapable of finding happiness in the world.

Anyway, I could probably go on, but I gotta leave to drive my kid to school and run a couple errands, but, in conclusion: when Zhao Jing said, “the world has failed me, and I shall do the same to the world,” and it became clear to me that he and Wen Kexing essentially share (or at least shared) the same core goal, I was struck by a lightning bolt about the parallels and contrasts between them as people, and them as father’s, and here you go.

Hope this is coherent, I’m really sleepy and in a rush. :D And I hope it answers your question!

(Also dear everyone: if you reply to this or add to it in reblogs I ask that you please respect that I’ve only seen to episode 27, and not rip me apart for things I haven’t seen yet, and try to avoid giving me spoilers? I know a few - or at least I think I do - like I know all the Major Character Death stuff - but I’m sure if you’ve seen the whole series you can spot places where you, dear reader, know things I don’t, and I’d ask that you not ruin those places for me, because I’m watching as fast as I can - about one episode a day - and I’d rather find out for myself. Thank you!)

[glitterytidalwavedragon]

Expanding into my other Fandoms (I’m gonna have to take a stance) Read the whole thing please.

One of my oldest and most beloved anime is Inuyasha. As of late I have been binged watching the hell out of it as I am getting my BFF into different anime shows. We are really close to entering the Yashahime part of the series, and she asked if I planned to write fanfiction involving the one character which made me even watch the show as a 10-year-old.

Sesshomaru

The first episode I ever watched involved this aloof, entitled dog fighting his brother over the sword in their father’s grave. Specifically, it was part 3 of that whole episode series were Kagome pulled out the sword. I at the time had 3 dogs of German Sheppard/wolf hybrid, they were MASSIVE dogs, fell in love with the big white fluff that was Sesshomaru’s demon form. I use to sneak staying up and watch the show faithfully to see the goodest boy as it was only on at 11pm EST on adult swim. Which meant it was bad and I was breaking the rules, I felt like a rebel.

Now I hesitated answering that question. She has no idea of what is in Yashahime, she is being careful not to spoil it so I told her I didn’t know. Recently, to find out what the feel is for Sesshomaru content, I looked into the tag on tumblr…

OH MY GOD.

Sesshomaru’s tag is FLOODED with hate. Like every four post, there is hate, distain, and attacking happening. As someone who watches Yashahime, I quickly knew why.

Sessrin.

Even now I sigh. And I sigh HARD. I am not for, nor am I against the Sessrin train. Same for the Sesskagu train. I think both sides need to look at things on a logical prospective. I plan to do just that. I know I will get hate from the either side and maybe some support as well. But if I am going to do anything in this fandom (as I like doing ships and reader inserts) it will come up.

So, like my Kaiba post, and my Sebastian Heel post, I will use my research skills as well as my COLLEGE DEGREE WHICH HAS BOTH ART AND MEDIEVAL HISTORY labelled on it to explain why this progression in the story is normal to anti-Sessrin fans and why this isn’t a crime by story standards nor should we look at it as a crime.

AS WELL

Explain to Sessrin fans why it is so weird for non-shippers to see it play out and why so much hate formed.

As I let out another sigh, we shall begin. Let’s start at an historical prospective. (Links at the bottom).

PLEASE READ THE WHOLE THING! I’LL BE ABLE TO TELL!

~~

I will start with the information I can access right away.

While finding charts on the life-span of common folk in 1590’s Feudal Japan is rather difficult, Ancient.edu states that the average lifespan was about 50. To put this in perspective, the average lifespan of Europeans at the time was somewhere between 40-45 with the latter being rare. Since most of us reading are not from Japanese descent, I will through Europe in this first.

If we look at the same time frame of 1590, we are looking at most of Western Europe had now entered the age of Renaissance. According to sources from Learning Resources in association with the National Gallery of Art, marriage was not what TV drama’s from HBO or Hulu depicted. By today standards they would be a crime, as the average age for marriage of an adult female was age 14…

The reasoning behind the young marriage age had multiple factors. First being, females were considered an adult once they were menstruating. Birthing also proved to be fatal, and since the lifespan was at best 40 and 45 if they were lucky, there was really no room to wait. Also Europe at the time had became hugely focused on making sure blood lines were legitimate, meaning to ensure the girl was a virgin, the moment she was able to reproduced she was married off. Those they married were not young teenagers either. Most marriages, a man would be in their thirties, and had probably multiple wives as women died more than men when not counting the battle field.

To make matters worse for the Renaissance Lady, these marriages would leave many young males unable to marry and if their husband died in battle, well, unfortunately they were not seen as desirable. This was due to the idea of a ‘free woman’. Should the girl not have a father, brother or uncle to return to as they too died, a widow had her freedom. But that freedom came at a cost. She would be assumed to have slept around, and in many writings, such as the Canterbury Tales, where Geoffrey Chaucer writes about a Window on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land survived her five husbands and the men in her family. In short, she was made to be a slut and to be looked down upon as no man controlled her.

The point of talking about Europe is because that is something most of us Non-Asian or Japanese people consume and like to paint in large romantic brush strokes of knights and magic. Honestly, reading G.R.R.Martin Song of Ice and Fire, he uses this model as we see the Queen of Dragons, Danny start off at age thirteen shortly after she had her first menstruation.  

Now let’s look at Feudal Japan.

As stated before, the lifespan was around 50 years. In some populations, this was even shorter. Nagaoka, Hirata, Yokota and Matsu’ura’s on demographic data at the Yuigahama-minami area in Kamakura, Japan and found both male and female remains that suggested life expectancy to have ended around age 24-25. This was largely due to living conditions and public health. In areas like these, it would make the most sense to marry and repopulate quickly as the expectancy of life was half the national average at the time.

To my frustration, I could not find a clear marriage age for Japanese women at the time of the edo period. HOWEVER, where there is a will there is a way. I took a look at famous Lords or Daimyo’s of the time. The average age of marriage of their wives was between 12-14. Much younger than I expected, but it made sense considering this is a time where war ran the show and marriage was strictly about political gain. One of these Daimyo’s was Masamune Date, who was also 13, but then as he got older took concubines who became considerably younger than him as he became older. The goal was to have as many children as possible for hires and for political marriages to gain power.

Now lets look at Inuyasha the MANGA

Lets get the manga timeline proper here. The whole adventure took place in 11 months, a month shy of Kagome’s 16th birthday. Doing a few estimations, Rin would have travelled with Sesshomaru about 8-9 of those months. But before we get into the relationship, lets look at something the ANIME made a huge mistake with in the beginning and tried to fix as the story went on.

For some reason I could only fine gifs for the Early appearances of Sesshomaru so bear with me.

Early appearances in the manga

 ^ He was so fickle and a trickster then...

Now early apperances in the anime.

Later appearance in the manga

Laster appearance in the anime

Notice the issue here? 

Sesshomaru was CONSIDERABLY younger looking in the start of the manga. In the anime, he started off looking like an fully adult male. But as the anime went on, they tried to make Sesshomaru look younger with subtle changes to his jaw line, eye size, and his height. Yeah, his height had changed. They made him shorter.

While in the manga, we see this young-teen looking demon, slowly mature over 11 months to look like he is in his later teens and by series end, closer to being in his late teens or twenty. Yes, art changes over time, but the anime went a reverse route. I can only guess they spoke to the author of Inuyasha about her ships, as they did Drama CDs, and realized the mistake that was made in making him more mature than he was.

You can’t tell me he doesn’t look closer to his manga self in the final act, because he does.

Since we are on the topic of the anime, lets be clear. The anime timeline and manga timeline are very different. The story in the anime (in the English) suggests that OVER a year has past since Kagome started her journey. They try to fix this in the final act, but it was still so muddled as previous seasons are to be taken as cannon. This could have been due to an translation error in the early production when the anime no longer had anymore manga material to reference. But whatever the case, for English viewers the time the group spent together felt much longer.

So now we come to the heart of the issue.

Because of the mistakes of the anime, a lot of anti-sessrin see the relationship as father daughter. I’ll be honest, watching the anime and solely the anime as a teenager and as an adult (as the manga was on hold for a very long time due to author’s health. I was in college when it finished.), I too thought it was just a father-daughter relationship and Jaken the nanny who got punched all the time. In fact, the English took hard liberties with Kagura, as the English dubs often do with characters, and made it very clear her feelings for the demon lord and Sesshomaru very much recognized them (though he never responded). Even in her death scene, it felt as if he was saying good bye to a friend more than love interest. But who really knows, as there are things that point otherwise.  When another demon mock’s Kagura’s death, Sesshomaru gets super pissy.

The manga did also play with this fact when it came out in English, idk if the wording or message is different in the Japanese. Translation errors happen a lot even in todays releases, look at Kuroshitsuji.  So of course most anti-sessrin’s did not see this coming in Yashahime when Rin was named mother. In fact it felt like a betrayal as we were sure Sesshomaru had no romantic feelings.

Then there was the Kohaku/Rin mashup that was hinted left and right. The English anime, with its overly dramatic and blunt emotions made it appear one way. That in the end the two kids would probably be married. Then the anime as a whole made Sesshomaru older than intended. I can see why and understand how this became a problem.

On the other side of that coin.

If you followed the dub, seen ‘Swords of an Honorable Ruler’ and read the manga… Sesshomaru was not fatherly to Rin at all. In fact, Jaken picked up all of that leg work. Rin worried for Kohaku, but clearly loved Lord Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru cared about Kagura but he almost CRIED when he lost Rin.

We have to remember that Sesshomaru and Rin’s relationship must have been very hard for the demon. While we never see his mental process expect for a few rare times, we have to remember he hated humans. In the movie, he blamed a human for the early death of his father, Sesshomaru killed without mercy. It made sense that he wouldn’t be fatherly to Rin as her just being there should have caused countless inner conflicts. Hell, he even says his father’s weakness was humans, and look who picked up that trait.

Sesshomaru was designed to, someday, walk in his father’s footsteps. So sess/rin, not a surprise. Also when you see it in a historical perspective, Rin having kids around age 15-16, makes sense. In fact you could argue he waited too long for the time period.

We also need to look more at the manga when concerned with Yashahime. 8-9 months is all Rin travelled with him and he was like hold up, and left her at the village because he KNEW she needed to come to her own conclusion. That no matter what she picked he would live with and protect her. Unconditional love on his end. She cannon wise spent YEARS living with humans and MONTHS with Sesshomaru. Again, by manga standards of cannon.

Now I can already hear the screaming about age and what not. Some sources say Sesshomaru is over 900, by the rule of thumb, if we look at anime and movie releases, we have Sesshomaru being over 500 with no define age and Inuyasha around 270 years old being more pinpointed due to the movie. Just by going by ANIME CANNON. Kagome and Inuyasha, you have a 15 year old with a 270 year old man. If you say being pinned to the tree doesn’t count, then you have 220.

Also, here is something very interesting. In the episode where Inuyasha meets the unmother, he tells her, thinking it was his mom, she died when he was very small and we have flash backs later in the series of him being small running from demons. Demons clearly age much slower than humans, even half-demons. Inuyasha can be 270 but mentally and physically be 15, the same logic works for Sesshomaru, who in the manga is not much older than Inuyasha.

In the manga, there wasn’t any grooming, in the anime, there was a ton of mess-ups but no grooming.

Would this fly in todays world? HELL NO! NO, its gross, she’s a kid. Stop.

I know any fanfic I write will lean heavily on the side of father/daughter because that is what I grew up seeing on the screen. I can’t think of Rin as an adult because years of seeing her as a cheerful little girl. It’s like seeing G.O.T Arya about to have sex for the first time in season 8… I remember when she was a kid on the show. It was way to weird and I had to look away until it ended. But that’s my 2021 mentality.

But Inuyasha is not taking place in 2021. Feudal Japan is a whole other era with its own beliefs, morals and way of life. Those who understand this have nothing wrong with them. They just understand history.

Also, just to bang some nails in…

Anyone remember Bleach? Remember the MOST accepted couple was Ichigo and Rukia…. Rukia who was hundreds of years old and Ichigo who was 15… or Ichigo’s mom who was a teenager and his dad also hundreds of years old.

Most of this also boils down to Sesshomaru being a dude. As in reverse roles in animes its accepted and they don’t have the same historical context. Inuyasha is based off of historical context of Feudal Japan.

We need to stop spreading hate. We can’t accept some forms of literature because its European fantasy but bash other fantasy based literature for doing the same thing.

Sure, its weird for those who were use to seeing the father/daughter dynamic. Yes, there are extreme sessrin fans who post really questionable illegal content when they decide to leave Rin as an 8-year-old…

But this wasn’t ever meant to be perverted. The story was meant to make sense on a logical and historical base.

I hope everyone takes the time to read this. I love Inuyasha, I love Sesshomaru. I am just sick of seeing so many people fighting over what should be the revival of a beloved series. While yes, there is still room for sess/rin not being a thing, until it is stated otherwise, why hate each other? This fandom will only lose people by doing this. Calling people names or accusing them of illegal endorsement can hurt someone these days over social media.

Tumblr allows you to block tags. You don’t have to read anything or watch anything you don’t like. We gain nothing from attacking each other but can lose so much by doing so. Fanart, really good fan fiction, friends, ideas, sharing fond memories. Both sides have the right to feel as they feel, but no right in hurting each other.

A fandom is meant to bring people together. Not start a war…

Thank you.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ajpa.20402

http://www.italianrenaissanceresources.com/units/unit-2/essays/husbands-and-wives/#:~:text=Marriage%20not%20only%20reflected%20order,to%20ensure%20the%20bride's%20virginity.

https://www.ancient.eu/Canterbury_Tales/

https://www.ancient.eu/article/1424/daily-life-in-medieval-japan/#:~:text=Just%20as%20Japanese%20people%20today,in%20Western%20Europe%2C%20for%20example.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Date_Masamune

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megohime

[five-rivers]

Okay so i've now decides ur my guide into all things Danny Phantom lmao, i just have one more question: //the ships// what even is the shipping culture here, i've seen basically NOTHING. Is just because they're all underage and the fandom is mostly grown (is that even true??) If so, that is one hell of a feat good job guys

This is actually really funny to me, because our shipping culture is, uh.  Really weird.  Even from the inside.  Like, apparently we inherited some extreme strangeness from the Early Phandom Days.  We have unique ship names for just about every conceivable pairing, and some that... should honestly not be conceived of.  This is the most complete list I’ve found.  Thankfully, most of these are jokes and do not have fics.  As far as I know.  (This isn’t a challenge, guys.)

But, yeah.  Shipping isn’t a huge part of our phandom culture overall.  It’s kinda just in the background.  I think this is partially because we have a high percentage of ace people, but IDK.  We put all our shipping energy into making communal OCs, I guess.

As far as phandom ages go, I think someone did a survey a year or two back, and most of the people who answered were teens.  I wish I could find the survey to show you, but I never reblogged it.  On the other hand, a lot of the more active members are in their twenties.  A lot of people on the rec list I sent you are adults.  I’m in my late twenties myself.  

If you value your sanity and don’t want to click on that link, I’ve got a list of the most prominent ones and associated drama below.

Danny/Sam aka Amethyst Ocean.  This is the canonical endgame ship.  Has both good points and bad points that have been extensively explored in fic.  The most likely one to show up in the background of gen fics.  Often paired with Valerie/Tucker (Hunter Silly).

Danny/Valerie aka Gray Ghost.  This is also a canon ship.  A dating catwoman situation, since Valerie hates and often fights Danny when he’s Phantom.  I think this and Amethyst Ocean had some drama back in the day, but I wasn’t there for that.  There’s still a little tiny drama because some people who ship this also bash Sam.  Also very popular.  Often paired with Sam/Tucker (Veggie Burger).

Danny/Paulina aka Shallow Sapphire or Pink Astronaut.  Which name gets used depends on both time and how the person feels about the ship.  Sort of canon?  But it’s the typical mean popular girl crush thing in canon.  People who like it usually flesh out Paulina a lot and add in a lot of Mexican or Spanish cultural stuff, depending on where they think Paulina is from, which is cool.  

Danny/Tucker aka Savant Par.  No idea why it’s called that.  Kind of rarer compared to the Amethyst Ocean and Gray Ghost, but there’s still a respectable number of fics.  

Danny/Dash aka Teddy Ghost.  Often gets some discourse when it comes up, because Dash is a bully in canon, but some people like it a lot.  I think I see art for it more often than Savant Par, but I don’t have stats.  

Danny/Wes aka Unidentified Flying Ship.  Yes, we ship Danny with our phandom conspiracy theorist OC.  Yes, it’s weirdly popular.  

Danny/Sam/Tucker aka Everlasting Trio.  We love our poly ships.  I have never seen even a little drama attached to this.  I think I’ve seen Valerie get added, sometimes, but I don’t think there’s a name for that.  

Maddie/Jack aka Brain Cookies aka Moronic Genius.  Again, canon, and is usually in the background of whatever else is going on.  Assume it’s there if Jack and Maddie are there.  

Maddie/Vlad aka Spurned Affection.  Because sometimes people like to see the bad guys win.  

Maddie/Vlad/Jack aka Family Breakfast.  Again, we love our poly ships.  The solution to all love triangles.

And then, sadly...  Because you can’t have fandom without sketchy ships...

Danny/Ghost Writer aka Iambic Prose.  I have mixed feelings about this one, because it’s usually a teenager and a theoretically immortal ghost of unclear age, but the people who write for it do it well.  

Danny and Vlad.  Aka Po/mpous P/ep.  (Backslashed because I don’t want tumblr’s algorithms to get a hold of it).  The fact that this exists, let alone that there are so many fics for it, bothers me.  Evidently caused great drama back when the phandom still had contact with Butch and the show was ongoing.  Continues to cause drama when it comes up because it’s just... gross.  People will list it in their DNIs.  

This isn’t even getting into platonic and parental ships, some of which are even bigger and more popular than the romantic ones.  I don’t think any of them are super active right now, but, like, if you’re going back in the archives, there’s a lot of contact.  

[thepropertylovers]

"Do You Do All the Grocery Shopping or Does Your Wife Usually Do It?"

I was in the check out line at the grocery store the other day having a lighthearted conversation with the check out clerk and the woman in line behind me, when suddenly, things to a drastic turn…

I was talking to Pauline, the check out clerk, about these blueberry breakfast bars I buy for PJ. They’re one of the only snacks he actually likes, so I try to remember to buy them whenever I go to the store. Pauline, however, hates them- she tried them once and thought they were gross. I laugh as she tells me this because our family quite enjoys them. I asked her if it was because she thought they tasted too processed since she also just let me know she cooks at home a lot and recently made Easter lunch for her son and his family. She said she doesn’t remember why, she just knows she doesn’t like them. Point made.

Meanwhile, the lady in line behind me points to my Blackbox of Chardonnay and inquisitively asks if that’s wine. I perk up and say yes, yes it is! And it’s so good! I tell her how you get four bottles in one box and it’s delicious and we’ve been doing boxed wine for the last year since it’s such a better buy money-wise. She tells me she has been wanting to try it for a while and she just may get some for herself.

She asks if I have a big family that I’m feeding with all the food and training pants that I’m buying. I proudly say that we have three foster kids at home who, even though they’re only ages five and under, eat so much all day every day, and that it’s been fun and challenging trying to come up with new things to cook when we don’t order takeout (which, sadly, has been more times that not lately). She asks me a bit about the kiddos and I gush to her about them, as anyone would.

Sometime during all of these exchanges I notice two younger girls in the line beside me paying attention to the different conversations we have going on. They’re probably in their late teens or early twenties. They don’t say anything, but I could tell they were interested and listening.

She gets to the end of ringing me up ($400 later), and I jokingly ask Pauline if she could tell I hadn’t been grocery shopping in a while and then I dramatically tell her I was grateful just to make it out of the store alive since I was already there for well over an hour. Pauline laughs and the lady behind me who asked about the wine laughs and then, with a smile on her face, she asks me a sincere, seemingly harmless question:

“Do you do all the grocery shopping or does your wife usually do it?” 

I don’t know if it was because I had already been at the store for over an hour and was tired and had to pee or if it was because I was only half-listening as I was inserting my card into the chip reader, but for some reason her use of the word “wife” didn’t register to me. I was so confused! My wife? Well, I don’t have a wife? I’m gay. 

So, I asked, “My wife?” And she replied, “Yes?” Pauline leaned in. “Oh, I don’t have a wife,” I matter-of-factly explained. “I have a husband, but I am the one who does all the grocery shopping and he will stay home with the kids or I’ll get my mom to watch them if he’s working. Honestly, though, I don’t mind because this is like my me time where I get to relax and be by myself and get away from all the noise for a while and kind of do my own thing, so I actually really enjoy it.” No one said a word.

The atmosphere drastically changed in a matter of seconds and suddenly it was a lot quieter as I took my card out of the chip reader. Pauline finished clearing all the bags and the girls beside us tilted their heads a little as they tried their best not to look like they were still listening. Finally, after a few seconds of silence (which can feel like eternity when it’s just you and a few others standing within a few feet of each other), the lady behind me exclaimed, “Oh okay! My daughter lives in Ohio and she and her husband just bought a million dollar house and I couldn’t believe it because the house they have now is so big that I sometimes get lost in it!”

I wasn’t sure what her daughter in Ohio buying a million dollar house had anything to do with the conversation we were having, but nonetheless, I smiled and said, “Good for her!” I assume she couldn’t find anything else to say after my revelation that she no doubt wasn’t expecting, and said the first thing that came to her mind. Maybe? Who knows. I didn’t mind either way. Pauline handed me my receipt with a smile on her face and we both told each other to have a nice day and that was that.

The thing no one tells you when you come out publicly for the first time is that you’re going to have to keep coming out for the rest of your life; to co-workers, to teachers, to classmates, to neighbors, to random people in line at the grocery store. For some, it never gets easier. It took a while for me to feel secure disclosing that I am gay and that I have a husband, not a wife, to strangers. It’s all about how comfortable and safe you feel in the situation. I now take pride in telling people I have a husband, especially here in the south, because it’s kind of a way for me to say, “Look! I’m an actual person that exists and that you can see and who has a life and who does the same things that everyone else does.” 

It’s a fine line deciding who you want to spend your time on explaining you don’t have a wife or a girlfriend when you use the word “we” in a sentence. The exterminator I was talking to on the phone last year, who I had already decided I wasn’t going to use for reasons unrelated to anything other than price, innocently misgendered PJ and said “wife”. I was in such a hurry to get off the phone at that point because the kids were yelling and I had already made up my mind that he was too expensive, that I didn’t even bother correcting him. But the lady in the check out line was different to me because we were already having an honest, fun conversation about nothing, and since she asked, I found no reason to lie to her. I lied about who I was to everyone I loved for half my life until I met PJ; until I came out.

While I don’t think heterosexual should be the assumed default sexual orientation, I understand why people, especially in the area of the country we live in, automatically think your spouse/partner is someone of the opposite sex. It’s just part of life and part of being a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and it’s something we’ll most likely always have to go through.

I’ve found, though, that when I am upfront with someone and confidently tell them I have a husband and/or we have three kiddos, they never say anything negative to me. Maybe it’s because they’re taken off guard or because they want to save face and not come across as rude, but whatever the reason, when I am honest with someone and politely correct them when they misgender my husband, they are respectful and almost always apologize and continue on with the conversation like nothing happened.

Also, a lot of times (again, especially in the area we live in) people don’t talk to an openly gay person, face to face every day, so I like to always think of these moments of “coming out” as education for others who might not be so familiar with the LGBTQ+ community or who might have preconceived ideas about us. When you act like it’s no big deal that you’re gay and married and have kids, then maybe they’ll, too, realize it’s no big deal that you’re gay and married and have kids. Is it our responsibility to educate others who might not accept us? Maybe not, but we have an opportunity to open their eyes and show them we’re here and we’re not going anywhere, nor should we have to.

At the end of the day, I can feel joy and take comfort in knowing that I am gay, that I am happy as an out individual and, of course, that I not only buy those blueberry breakfast bars for my husband since they’re one of the only snacks he actually likes, but that I in fact do all the grocery shopping in our family. Not my husband, and certainly not my wife.

And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

[bywordofaphrodite]

Book Reviews 3&4: Nancy Drew and the Lilac Inn by Carolyn Keene & Trixie Belden and the Secret of the Mansion by Julie Campbell Tatham

This review’s theme is girl detective books ! Audience age range: roughly 12 and up !

Just as Enid Blyton’s books made me fall in love with magical creatures and faraway lands, detective novels became an obsession during late primary school, with classic lead female characters Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden being my absolute favourites. My school had an extremely small and limited library, and the Nancy Drew books were one of the only decent series there- even with a great chunk of the collection missing. My mother introduced me to Trixie Belden, which she insisted was better than Nancy Drew, though I refused to listen to such a declaration at the time.

Now, though? My opinions have definitely changed.

Nostalgic review

Rating: ★★★★★

From memory, Nancy Drew is a clever, beautiful and well-off girl in her late teens, living with her lawyer father Carson Drew and her housekeeper Hannah Gruen, who has looked after Nancy since her mother’s passing when she was only three. I always enjoyed the dynamic between Nancy and her father, as it was similar to mine with my father, also a lawyer- Carson doesn’t step in unless Nancy needs his help, but he does assist in legal advice when necessary. I also loved Nancy’s friendship with the cousins Bess and George, and liked that her relationship with her ‘special friend’ Ned never got in the way of solving mysteries or hanging out with her friends (‘hanging out’ was practically code for sleuthing in these novels anyway). Overall, my memories of this series amount mostly to exciting searches for missing heiresses, finding beautiful jewels and battling crocodiles in Florida.

On the opposite side of the spectrum is Trixie Belden- rough-around-the-edges thirteen year-old from a poor family living with both her parents and three brothers. Where Nancy has a housekeeper, lives in an affluent suburban neighbourhood and never wants for money, Trixie lives on the outskirts of a small town, both her parents work, and she is constantly reminded of how important it is to work for money as they do not have much of it to spare on mindless things. Nancy is a fairly solitary character, often working alone unless her friends show up, and even then she does most of the legwork; Trixie is also the main sleuth in her series, but her best friend Honey is almost always at her side. While the mysteries were great, the warm friendships in Trixie Belden novels are what I remember best.

Regardless of whatever my thoughts may be after rereading books from these two series, I’ve never ceased referencing either of them and my love of the mystery genre still holds fast even now.

Nancy Drew and the Lilac Inn Review

Post-read: ★★

Synopsis: girl detective Nancy Drew is called to solve a series of odd goings on at her newly engaged friend Emily’s inn, in what seems to be an attempt to prevent Emily and her fiancé from opening. Disaster strikes when her aunt retrieves Emily’s inheritance of diamonds- Emily’s last hope to cover the costs of fixing up the inn- and they are swiftly stolen within the hour. Nancy vows to catch the thief and the intruder and save Emily’s inn from failure.

I struggled in choosing which Nancy Drew book to reread for this review, and after reading through multiple rankings lists I decided on the Lilac Inn because it ranked highly on every list. I now wish I had just gone with Crocodile Island anyway… at least there was something snappy about it. In between the bomb, the theft, the doppelganger, the underwater fake-shark, the kidnapping, the spear-gun attack- I think I’ve made my point. There’s far too much going on, and if it was well-written I would be okay with it, really I would, but it’s all so blandly articulated that half the time I had to reread just to make sure I’d read correctly what nonsense was occurring at any given time.

Straight out the gate, I just want to say how shocking the writing was- that’s shockingly bad, by the way. If I thought Enid Blyton’s work was stunted, well, this was far, far worse. Especially since it lacks the excuse of being written for young children. It was incredibly difficult to push through in the slower parts, and I must admit I basically skim-read the lead up parts to the action sequences (which were incredibly minimal compared to the gnashing crocodile teeth I longed for, but alas). Sadly for me, Bess (my old fave), George and Ned were not present at all, and I cannot remember if they had actually been introduced that early in the series because they are not mentioned once.

I did really like the concept of the story, and the element of Nancy having a creepy doppelganger posing as Nancy to cause mischief (she has several over the series) was fun, even more so that said doppelganger was an actual actress and quite ruthless in her attempts to steal Emily’s diamonds- I love a morally-corrupt pretty female villain as much as the next person, after all. There is a romance teased between Nancy and a young man staying at the inn, a young man who continuously seems to be in the same room as the diamond thief messing with Emily’s inn, but ultimately both never amount to anything. This hardly surprised me given the book is written in the thirties, and Ned and Nancy never do anything but attend dances together the entire series, but still, come on. He could’ve at least stolen the diamonds to add some spice to his useless appearances.

It’s possible that were a very talented scriptwriter to take this book and make it into a movie it could work out a lot better than it does on paper- provided the casting was done well. The sets would be interesting, and I think the creepiness of the ‘ghost’ in the orchard and the diving scenes would translate a lot better on camera. Normally I’m not one to nominate live actions of novels for no reason, but this thought kept recurring as I struggled to get through the writing.

Characters who aged well: Nancy is smart and weirdly good at everything (they don’t explain why she knows how to do all the things she does, but diving and freeing herself from bonds seems to be easy enough for her. Given male characters are always allowed to be perfect without training, I’ll allow it). For a female character written in the 30s she has plenty of agency and does not once rely on a man’s help to do anything, which is why I always enjoyed her books. Carson Drew also aged well- not present that often, but useful without being interfering, and his trust in his daughter is refreshing. As for the other main characters in the series… they didn’t even show up in this book so I can’t really comment on this.

Characters who aged badly: plot twist- I’m adding Nancy here too. She is a little too perfect, too polished, a common criticism by modern readers, though at the time of publication was her main selling point. Additionally, earlier editions of the series featured racist comments made by Nancy, although those have since been taken out. However, the publisher and creator of the first books was not a very pleasant person, so I find myself able to separate that from Nancy’s character.

Favourite scene/quote: ‘The article went on to tell that Nancy had just completed a course in advanced skin diving in the Muskoka River, and that she had finished first in total points in the twenty student group’.

I find this quote amusing because there is really no need for Nancy to be good at every single thing, and this is a good example of the many times throughout the series that Nancy is the ‘best’ at a very random activity that is often never mentioned again.

As for my favourite scene, though nothing interesting actually ends up happening in the orchard, I did like the eerie setting of Nancy dressing up as a ghost and chilling behind a tree for a while (okay it was partially eerie, mostly just oddly comedic). The actress/impostor posing as Nancy provided a few good scenes, too, but for the main villain of the story she was hardly in as many scenes as she should’ve been in.

After doing some research, I discovered something most interesting: Nancy was written with significantly more character by the original ghost-writer of the series, a woman named Mildred Wirt Benson, who wrote Nancy ‘embodying qualities that she wished she had’- but the publisher Edward Stratemeyer did not want a bold female character, and she was rewritten with similar dialogue but now accompanied with ‘dainty’ verbs to sweeten her words. Stratemeyer was also known for his beliefs that women belonged in the kitchen, and the only reason he created Nancy in the first place was to capitalise on young female readers who wanted their own equivalent of the Hardy Boys.

With all of this in mind, it’s very possible that the Nancy from my memories is a mix of the older and new editions, which allowed Nancy more personality as the series went on, no longer needing to confirm to the sexist expectations of the 1930s. And despite these origins, Nancy Drew aged quite well as an unintended feminist icon: she solves her mysteries alone and rarely needs Ned’s help at all; in fact, most of the time, Nancy is the one doing the saving. It’s nice to think that, almost one hundred years later, Mildred Wirt Benson’s version of Nancy is the one being kept alive, both on paper and onscreen.

Trixie Belden and the Secret of the Mansion Review

Post-read: ★★★★★

Synopsis: energetic teen Trixie Belden’s boring town of Sleepyside is turned upside down when a rich new family moves onto the property opposite her own, an old miser winds up in hospital and his empty mansion is suddenly inhabited by a runaway boy, and a missing fortune is waiting to be uncovered.

Whewww.

This was a massive breath of fresh air after the Lilac Inn! After being so unimpressed by both Blyton and Keene’s writing, Tatham’s writing restored my faith in my childhood judgement. Her words flowed well and the conversation between the characters was very natural. The blank slate characters in the Lilac Inn were showed up by the animated and multiple-dimensional characters in the Secret of the Mansion, and I never once felt the need to rush myself through the chapters.

Unlike my method of choosing a Nancy Drew book, I simply decided on reading the first Trixie book for this review. While I almost went for a later book where all the main characters had been introduced, I couldn’t remember how Trixie first met Honey and Jim, which I felt was pretty important to her character. I’m very glad I did. Even in the first book, Trixie endures so much character development (contrasting very strongly with Nancy’s flawless existence). Longing for a friend, Trixie takes herself up the hill to the newly habited mansion to introduce herself and her little brother Bobby, who she is babysitting to earn money to buy herself a horse. There she meets rich girl Honey Wheeler, a sickly and sheltered but sweet girl of the same age, whose parents pay little attention to her. Things fall into place with all the expected luck of a teen heroine- Honey’s governess is a lovely woman who wants Honey to befriend Trixie and offers to look after Bobby, and of course Honey’s stables are now filled with horses and a stable hand who can teach her to ride.

But for every easy thing comes an opportunity for Trixie to grow: she comes to admire Honey’s bravery after previously being irritated by her fear of trying outdoor activities; she ignores the stable hand’s orders not to ride the stallion and falls as a result, leading to her having to work to regain his trust and also being taught the valuable lesson to recognise her own limits; finally, as much as Trixie hates looking after little Bobby, when he is bitten by a snake Trixie is resourceful and quick on her feet in helping him, keeping him well enough until a doctor and other adults arrive.

Rather like the Lilac Inn, the mystery of the story centres on the hidden will to a supposed fortune of the elderly man who lived in the old mansion not far from Honey’s new home. On a whim, Trixie nags Honey into accompanying her to snoop around the building, leading to their discovery of the old man’s nephew Jim hiding there. By the end of the book, the girls have helped Jim to find the will and safely escape his abusive step-father. Later in the series, Jim is adopted by the Wheeler family, and also becomes Trixie’s primary love interest (I love that this relationship is not at all rushed either).

The reading level for the Trixie Belden series is listed as grade 3 and above, but I had no problems being completely involved and intrigued by the storyline and characters as a twenty-three year old. I think I’ll continue to read the series on my own time, as I always enjoyed the full character line-up developed after a few books in.

Characters who aged well: Trixie! If my praise during this review didn’t make clear enough, she’s a wonderful character with great development. Honey and Jim are also solid characters, and Bobby and Trixie’s parents are well-written too- supportive and kind, but realistic concerning raising Trixie to be a responsible kid. Also going to add that Trixie’s group of best friends- self-named the Bob-Whites of the Glen and consisting of her two older brothers Brian and Mart, Honey, Jim and the later additions of Dan and Di- have a strong presence and very distinct personalities when they show up in the later novels.

Characters who aged badly: nobody! All the side characters were well done, including the villain. He wasn’t over-the-top by any means, his abuse of Jim was both emotion and physical in a realistic manner that concerned the adults around him enough to comment on it without actually taking proper action to help him, as it often goes. I appreciated the author’s ability to write a male character the vulnerable one, to recognise what was wrong about the situation, and to gladly accept help from two girls younger than him.

Favourite scene/quote: “‘serves him right,’ Trixie said, wiping her grimy hands on her rolled-up blue jeans. ‘The mean old miser. You should have left him lying in the driveway, Dad.’”

An earlier quote in the book, this sets the tone for Trixie’s character: she’s messy, no-nonsense and cheeky. For a female character written in 1948 I found this quite amusing. There’s none of the internalised misogyny that often popped up in ‘tomboy’ characters of the time: Trixie just is what she is, and she’s great.

A standout scene would be Trixie sucking the venom from her brother’s snakebite to save him, and the chapters focused on the developing friendship with Honey and Jim while the two teach Trixie how to handle horses is also enjoyable.

Overall verdict:

My mother was right, Trixie Belden is far better than Nancy Drew in every category I can think of. I wish that the series had gained the popularity that Nancy Drew did, because it would make for a fun movie or television show. There is an eighteen year gap between the publication of the first novel from both series, and both heroines saw many more books written after that. Nancy Drew is so persistent, however, that multiple movies and even a recent CW show have been made, though it is not very accurate to the books at all. Even now, modern-day setting Nancy Drew mysteries are still being released under the Carolyn Keene pseudonym, showing her unending mythical status.

I still love Nancy, bad writing and all, but in all fairness, Miss Trixie deserves a cut of the nostalgic hype surrounding the girl-detective genre. I’d also like to bask in the poetic justice of Nancy not only remaining a more iconic character than the Hardy Boys, but also becoming more feminist as time goes on. I’m sure the publisher is rolling in his grave!

[mercerislandbooks]

Try Audio Books for Book Bingo!

Thanks to the recent Seattle Times article with the reminder that listening to an audio book constitutes reading a book for the purposes of Book Bingo, I was able to use some of my recent audio book “reads” to fill in a few Book Bingo squares!

For me, audio books have been a fun way to squeeze in a few more titles per month. I listen when I work out, on my way to and from work, when I’m knitting, and, when I’m really into an audio book, on my lunch breaks. I especially like listening to YA (bonus points if they have dual narrators, so fun!), romance, and some nonfiction, which is often narrated by the author, as you’ll see below. Every so often I’ll add in a literary fiction, like Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet. The pleasure of truly excellent prose spoken aloud adds a depth to my experience of the story. I can’t listen to an audiobook as fast as I can read a book, so it gives me more time to think about the characters, what is happening in the plot and speculate about what might happen next. When I listened to The Dutch House (read by Tom Hanks) I was continually surprised by the twists of the plot. When I listened to Gold Diggers, I was able to step away long enough to remind myself these were fictional characters, because I thought they were making so many bad choices!

Island Books partners with Libro.fm, a local independent audio book platform. Readers who want to support Island Books and get downloadable audio books can purchase a monthly subscription, or buy audio books a la carte, while designating their chosen independent bookstore. Most of our staff uses the Libro.fm app, and whenever I personally mention in a recommendation card or in a blog that I listened to the audio book, it has been exclusively using Libro.fm.

Here are my recent audio book “reads” that are helping me fill in my Book Bingo!

The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green

I’ve read several of John Green’s YA titles, (The Fault in our Stars, Looking for Alaska, and Turtles all the Way Down) and heard he had a podcast, but never listened to it. So when I saw he had a book of essays coming out, and that he was reading the audiobook, I thought it would be a nice change of pace from all the YA rom-coms I’d been devouring. There’s something lovely about hearing an author read their personal essays aloud, knowing that they are acutely aware of the intent they are trying to convey to their reader/listener. Having no preconceptions, I found this a delightful ramble through John Green’s thoughts about things as varied as the Indy 500, Kentucky Bluegrass (which I initially thought was the music genre and was confused as to all this discussion of lawn care), and Air-Conditioning. Green gives a concise deep dive into each subject, but always circles back to his own, quite moving, personal experience. The through line in each, either explicitly or not, is the disruption of the Covid pandemic, and he imbeds in each essay a snapshot of whatever uncertainty we were all contending with at that particular time. I used The Anthropocene Reviewed for my “Poetry or Essays” square.

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

I know this has already been one of the big books of the summer, especially among the late teens and early twenties readers. I had it in my to listen queue when I found it listed on the Seattle Public Library’s “Peak Picks” page - perfect way to fill in that square! I listened to the bulk of it on a recent road trip and, for me, the audio book was the perfect way to submerge myself in the story without overthinking the moments that slightly strained my credulity. August has recently moved to New York City as a way to hopefully finish college, extract herself from her mother’s obsession with a particular cold case, and be alone without feeling lonely. She stumbles into an apartment situation with a handful of quirky characters, a job as a waitress at a pancake restaurant, and a commute on the Q train to school. Which is where she meets Jane. August has a crush at first sight, especially after Jane rescues August with a scarf to cover her coffee ruined shirt. But August starts to realize there’s something different about Jane - she listens to cassettes on a Walkman, she’s always wearing the same outfit, and she’s always, always on the Q train whenever August gets on. This is certainly a romance, and there’s plenty of steamy moments, but the relationships between August and her roommates moved me the most as they slowly break down her protective shell. August struggles to let herself love others, and to let herself be loved, so listening to her gradual change was tender and sweet. I loved seeing her find her people, a place where she felt like she belonged, and realize how full and good her life could be. One Last Stop would also work for Romance, QTBIPOC and Coming of Age Book Bingo squares.

The View Was Exhausting by Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta

This one I didn’t start for any particular Book Bingo square, but The View Was Exhausting would work for Romance, Beach Read, QTBIPOC, or Recommended by a Local Bookseller (me!).  All I knew going in was it was a romance with the fake dating trope and set in the upper echelons of Hollywood society. I figured it would be a fun escapist look behind the scenes of a lifestyle a million miles away from my own. Whitman “Win” Tagore is an A-list British Indian actress chasing after a coveted role in a Hemingway film adaptation when scandal erupts in her personal life. She retreats to Saint-Tropez to do damage control by calling in her on again off again “boyfriend”, society darling/male model Leo Milanowski. The world thinks that Win and Leo have a love story for the ages, but since the moment they met at age 20, it’s been about public image - fake dating on a global stage. First I was captured by narrator, Tania Rodrigues, and her precise English accent that she molds to fit every character. Her voice reading Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta’s words made me feel like I was in each exotic location. Second, the whole concept raised really interesting questions about the double standard for men and women in the film industry, and especially for women of color. Win feels like she has to faultlessly maintain her image in order to have the career she wants, and so as not to make it harder for any other British Indian actresses coming up behind her. She goes to great lengths, with her loyal publicist, to craft the image she thinks the public wants, the producers and directors want, and is exhausted by the effort. I found myself wondering if Win could just refuse to play the game? This is an audio book I raced through because I couldn’t wait to see what would happen!

I hope everyone is finding something fun to read or listen to this summer. If you want to sign up for a Libro.fm membership, go to the sidebar on our website, islandbooks.com and click on the link. Time for me to pick my next listen!

— Lori

[keanuvibe]

Professor Reeves (Keanu Reeves x Reader)

A/N: Okay, here it is. The full continuation of the teaser i posted earlier this week :) I'm v excited about this okee. Thank u @keanusreefs for inspiring me, ily<3

Words: 7.0K

Warnings: Swears, Age-gap, SMUT ;), teacher/student (does that need a tag?)

Disclaimer: all characters, places, and people are of my own imagination save for Keanu :) thank you for reading <3

The bell ringing overhead signaled the end of class and the shuffle of students erupted throughout the quiet room. The mild anxiety that came with first day nerves began infecting your veins again, and you took a deep breath standing up. You gave the teacher a nod on the way out, beginning the trek to your final class of the day.

You are a freshman in college, a newbie. However, the catch is: you’re twenty-eight. You started late, leaving highschool with big aspirations didn't turn out like you’d hoped. Being into movies and film since you were a young child, you decided a career in acting was your best option to maybe, eventually, move up in the ranks and get famous. Shortly after high school graduation, you moved to New York and began starring in small plays. Each night you hoped a scout would enter the audience and give you the break you were looking for, but over the years nothing happened. During the day you worked as a bank teller, having started after running out of money. The job was great, and you ended up staying at that location for six years before it got robbed. 

You ended up moving back to your home state and with your parents at twenty-six. You were kind of a deadbeat for two years before your parents urged you to take a couple ‘fun’ classes at the local community college; mentioning how the school had a wonderful drama program. Having nothing better to do, you took out a small student loan, got a part-time job as a waitress, and enrolled at Tulip Ridge Community College focusing on Theater and Acting. You chose a few small art classes to fill the first few hours of the day, and a required English course as well, leaving your last class of the day to be Drama.

Luckily, the theater department wasn’t far from English, being that it is the class prior. You made it to the Drama room placed in a large room just off the hallway from the auditorium, greeting a hustle of students. The ages ranged, but for the most part it looked to be teens fresh from highschool. You scanned the room, greeting the over decorated space. Props from previous shows, you assumed at least, littered the painted white brick walls leaving barely any white to show. Long tables with cheap plastic school chairs sat in the middle of the room, parallel to a large prop presidential stand. On the wall behind the stand was the whiteboards with a projector screen pulled down covering the center.  You assumed that was where the teacher stood. You didn’t even know their name.

In the back of the room stood a mock carpeted stage. It was most likely the place they either used to practice plays when the auditorium was occupied or sat an audience in when they did more intimate shows with a smaller crowd, like a dine-in show. You did plenty of those with your theater company in New York. 

Picking a table that was empty, you quickly hustled to it before anyone else could and sat down in a corner seat. As a couple minutes passed, more rowdy theater kids had filled the room; greeting the others from their summer breaks. Most of the crowd seemed young, however the wonderful thing about community college is there's always going to be older people. 

“Hi, I’m June.” A high-pitched tone spoke, catching your attention. Turning your head, you noticed a lady had taken the seat next to your own. She looked older, maybe early thirties. She donned long brunette hair and was dressed as though it was the year 1984.

“Oh, uh, Hi.” You smiled back, holding your hand out to shake instinctively, “I’m (Y/N).”

“Nice to meet you, (Y/N).” She smiled wide. “Not to pry, but, I haven’t seen you at Tulip Ridge before, are you new?” June seemed like a preppy type, but very vintage.

“Oh, yeah. I’m a freshman.” You responded with a slight chuckle.

“Oh, well, welcome!” The woman responded, cheer evident in her tone. You were about to respond and ask her a few questions, however you were interrupted before you began. 

“Good afternoon class, I’m Professor Reeves.” The humble, deep voice of the teacher startled you and you quickly glanced in his direction. Eyes widening, you greeted the sight of the delicious man. He was tall, towering over the presidential podium prop he stood behind. His hair was long and disheveled framing his face perfectly. He donned a dark brown tweed jacket with a soft green button up underneath, however, and unfortunately, you couldn’t see the bottom half. 

“Welcome back, how were your breaks?” He asked, looking around the room. Students that seemed to know the man chimed back with colorful answers, prompting the man to laugh. You looked over to June who seemed engaged and intrigued by whatever the man was doing. So, is Professor Reeves the hot teacher of Tulip Ridge? What makes it even worse is he’s the Drama teacher. You’ve always had a weakness for theater boys; probably just the inner thespian in you. You had a few boyfriends back in New York, however their ego’s always tended to get the best of them and you’d have to break things off. 

“I see a few new faces in the crowd this year, let’s see,” Professor Reeves’ dark eyes scanned the class once again; eyes connecting with your own. You felt a chill run down your spine as the swarm of dormant butterflies in your tummy rushed to life. 

“What’s your name, breaktaking?” You felt your stomach drop as the teacher gestured towards you. A nervous snort escaped your throat and you felt your cheeks gain heat like a house on fire. You could perform in front of hundreds of people; yet the single attention of this one man was eating you alive.

“it’s- it’s (Y/N).” You nervously chuckled in response. The eyes of your classmates didn’t help the heat retaining in your cheeks. June gently patting your back snapped you back to reality and you looked in her direction. She gave you a reassuring nod, humoring the teacher still. 

“And what compelled you to pursue acting, (Y/N).” Your name rolling off of Professor Reeves’ tongue made the butterflies excite even more and you cleared your throat in an attempt to brush off some embarrassment. 

 “Um, well, I’m not exactly new to acting and drama. I’ve been doing this medium since I was seven. After highschool I even performed in New York for a bit, but um, just small shows.” You answered with a shrug, keeping focused on the teacher. The stares from the other students were burning into your skull, but you ignored them.

“So, what’re you doing at Tulip Ridge then?” The teacher pushed, his dark eyes gleaming into your own. He leaned forwards on the podium a little, his attention still burning at you. You sat up in your seat slightly, not really wanting to admit to a room full of strangers that you feel like a loser and deadbeat and are only here because your parents convinced you.

“Well, I-” You paused, “I want to further my education, that’s reason enough. Plus, there’s no better place to start than community college.” Typical answer, but it hides the truth enough, you guess. Professor Reeves’ stare indicated he knew you were hiding something. You kept eye contact long enough before another student spoke up breaking the stare.

--

The abrupt bell ringing interrupted the movie that was playing on the projector screen. The class erupted as everyone began to gather their things and shuffle out for the day. Shortly after all the new and old students had been introduced, the Professor had quickly jumped into the curriculum for the semester. He went over the syllabus as well as the first project you’d be doing in the class; which is to perform a quick, no longer than three minute, scene from your movie of choice. It has to consist of at least two characters and be school appropriate, obviously. Of course you and your new table mate decided to partner up for the project with high hopes of good scores.  

Speaking of the enthusiastic woman, you and June had talked throughout class slowly learning about the other. You discovered that she is thirty-one, works part-time in a bakery and has a four year old son. She isn’t married, but her and her son’s father are on good co-parenting terms. She’s been going to Tulip Ridge for one year now, making this her final year before she moves on to a four year college. She decided to go back to school after her and her son’s father split, leaving her with half an income but a full child to feed.

“Where are you headed after this?” June asked, tossing her long hair over her shoulder and grabbing her backpack.

“Back home, I’m sure my mom will want me to do some chores for her. I’ll research a scene for us and send you a link, as well. How about you?” You smiled at the woman. Being only a couple years younger than June felt nice, as most of your class as previously mentioned is overenthusiastic teenagers.

“You have got to move out, Sugar.” June laughed with a shake of her head. “I’m going to pick up my kid from daycare and spend a few hours with him before work tonight.” You could tell the woman loved her child a lot. Her voice and demeanor always softened at the mention of him. It almost made you feel the rush to be a mother; but you’re still young.

“Trust me, I know.” You responded with a chuckle. Shortly after, June said her goodbyes and excused herself. As she exited with the main crowd, only a few stragglers remained including you. You scanned the room, greeting the sight of Professor Reeves standing by the door saying his goodbyes to the students. You scanned him up and down now, actually being able to see his bottom half.

He was attractive, there was no doubt about that. The man was goofy too, as you’d expect a Drama teacher to act. During class you asked June if she knew anything about him and she actually gave you a quick rundown. Apparently he used to be a famous Hollywood star back in the mid-eighties to nineties. He did quite a few indie films, and one or two blockbusters. He fell off the radar in the year two-thousand after his wife died; resurfacing as a teacher in your rinky-dink hometown seven years later. The catch is, nobody knows his real name; at least locally. He keeps it hidden, only going by as Professor Reeves or Mr. Reeves. The fact you’d never heard of him kind of shocked you, but it really seemed like the fame world had moved on from your teacher. Students somewhat reacted to him, if they were film buffs, but otherwise he seemed like he lived a quiet life.

Your teacher's eyesight meeting your own caused you to stop staring finally. As a hot blush covered your cheeks once again, you quickly focused back down onto your backpack acting as though you were doing things. The room now sounded mostly quiet, and the pad of the Professors shoes echoed louder to your person.

“Miss (Y/N).” The deepness of his voice gave your spine a chill. You shyly looked up, greeting your teacher. Up close he was stunning. Gorgeous dark hair framed his face and dark full eyebrows covered his fierce brown eyes. You, however, were loving his salt and pepper speckled beard. 

“Professor Reeves.” You greeted back, swallowing the intimidation. The man towered over your smaller frame, you couldn’t help but want to climb him like a tree (it’s been seven months since you last got laid. Things have gotten heated).  

“It’s always refreshing to see new students.” He gave you a small grin. “You said you’ve done shows in New York? What’re you doing back here, superstar?” The man joked. The familiar hot feeling flooded your cheeks and you released a nervous chuckle, quickly casting your eyes to your shoes.

“Well- Like I said earlier: to further my education.” You managed, gathering the courage to make eye contact again. “I could ask you the same. You were a blockbuster star.” When your eyes met, butterflies erupt in your stomach again. What was it about this man that made you so horny and shy at the same time. His eyes narrowed slightly, as though he was saying touche. 

“Well, I’d love to see your work some time.” The deep tone in his voice gave you another shiver down your spine as you kept the eye contact.

“I’d love to see yours. And, uh, then I’ll see if I have a copy somewhere. I did Phantom back in New York. Well, I was ensemble, but…” You trailed off, chuckling to cover the nervous feeling. 

“Ensemble is the backbone of theater, darling.” Professor Reeves’ hand gently tapped your arm after his comment. You felt the shock of his touch and immediately made eye contact as you did so. The man must’ve felt the same, as his eyes shot to yours as well. 

“I-I’d better get going.” You spoke so quietly, quickly shuffling past your teacher. However, you felt his hand linger as you pulled away. You felt as each individual finger dragged against your body before you were out of reach. That’s definitely going to help some tension releasing activities tonight. 

--

It’s been three weeks since the first day and college isn’t too bad, you’ve come to discover. Befriending June was a good option, as you two easily got along being similar in age. You even met her son the other day after school. Plus, your classes are simple too; only taking Art and English credits was a smart decision. Drama had quickly taken place as your favorite class, however. Acting was fun, but your Professor also had taken part in your sway on the choice.

“Alright, we’re going to be doing the quick-minute scenes today, I hope you all came prepared.” The drama teacher's voice settled the rowdy crowd of students as he walked into the room. June slunk back into the chair next to you and you glanced towards the woman. She didn’t have as much performance history as you, she’d mentioned at one of your practices that she was nervous for today. You leaned over and gave her a gentle pat on her shoulder.

“Run over the lines again, it’s gonna be great.” You smiled gently. The woman pulled out the sheet you’d been using to run lines and you saw as she began to mouth the words.

Looking back towards the front of the room, you caught your teacher's eyes. He stood up by the podium, a student clearly trying to converse with him although his eyes seemed fixated towards you. Realizing you were staring in return, he quickly turned his attention back towards the student, consciously adjusting the way he was standing. You bit the inside of your cheek, suppressing the smile that dared to take over and quickly cast your eyes towards the desk again.

The professor quickly got the class into order, quieting everybody down. He stood behind the stand, now facing everybody as they adjusted into their seats. The man shuffled a few papers around before looking back up and tucking some hair behind his ear. You sighed quietly, slinking further into your chair and crossing your legs. Your crush was only getting worse. 

“So, before I start calling names, who’d like to present first.” Professor Reeves made a point to look directly at you. You raised your brow, shaking your head ‘No’ slowly. June would die if you two went first anyways. His eyes then moved on, looking at the other groups of students before he clicked his teeth and shrugged, choosing one of the fresh-from-highschool kids. 

The kid sighed loudly, tapping his partner on the shoulder and standing up. Professor Reeves pushed the podium out of the way and to the side so the students could stand front and center.The two of them introduced themselves as Travis and Mike before jumping into it. As they started, you easily recognized the scene to be from the third Lord of The Rings installment, when Gandalf gives Pippin the speech about death. 

June’s phone sitting on your table vibrated and she quickly picked it up to avoid any more distraction. You glanced over to her, watching her read the text and her expression turn more sour with each word. Furrowing your brow, you scooted your chair closer and quietly whispered.

“What’s wrong?”

The woman didn’t answer right away, instead you could see as her eyes reread the text before she finally seemed to snap to reality.

“M-My son got into trouble at daycare- I need to go. I can’t perform our presentation today.” She seemed annoyed by this but started to collect her things. I guess it was the last class of the day anyways, and you’re sure you can convince Professor Reeves to extend your scene to tomorrow. 

“That’s okay. We’ll figure it out, go.” You gave her a reassuring nod and she smiled back. After gathering her things and waiting for the current group to finish, she stood up and quietly made her way to your teacher, asking to be excused. The man seemed to comply as she thanked him and quickly turned to leave, giving you a small wave and smile on the way out the door. You let your smile linger before a quiet sigh escaped.

Class proceeded normally. A few groups went before the Professor ended up calling your name. He clearly saw your partner leave, so what is he planning?

“(Y/N), why don’t you give your presentation?” His deep voice always had some sway over you. But you resisted, biting the inside of your cheek.

“Uh, my partner had an emergency and left.” You spoke, furrowing your brow. Your teacher nodded, acting as though it was new information in front of the class before he looked back at you.

“Well, maybe I can be your partner today. What were you going to perform?” The coy expression that covered his face said all it needed to. You felt the mock anger that covered the romantic feelings you felt made itself present and you let out a sigh before answering.

“Alright, well, we were going to perform an excerpt from ‘Moulin Rouge’, um, right before they burst into ‘Silly Love Songs’. I have a copy of our lines if you want.” As you spoke, you’d already gathered your copy of the sheet and made your way to the front. Ignoring the stares of your classmates was the best way to deal with your nerves, even though their eyes were burning into you like you were a demon and they were holy water. You were about to perform with your teacher, and that needed all of your focus currently. Handing over the sheet, your fingers brushed and an electric feeling coursed through your body starting from your fingertips. It gave a jolt to your heart, stuttering your breath for a moment. 

“Um, June was a bit scared to do the minor singing part, so I’ll be playing Christian and you’ll be Satine.” You spoke, first looking towards the Profesor then glancing across the class. A few muttered laughs came from the immature minds humoring at the gender switch. The man let out a low chuckle himself but nodded, holding up the sheet so he could read the lines. 

“Christian, I’m a courtesan. I’m paid to make men believe what they want to believe.” Your teacher began, his eyes cast between your reaction and the paper. You quickly got into character, prepared to react.

“Yes. Silly of me, to think y-you could fall in love with someone like me.” You spoke with a sigh, feigning to be sad. 

“I can’t fall in love with anyone.” The man responded with a sad chuckle, stepping closer towards your figure. You felt your heartbeat raise slightly. 

“Can’t fall in love? But a life without love… That’s terrible!” You lightly exclaimed, leaning into the character more. You and June chose the movie having seen it as young girls and loving the romance of it all. Of course you ended up doing a romantic scene with Professor Reeves.

“No!” The man reacted, “Being on the street, that’s terrible.” His tone suggested he was getting defensive just as Nicole Kidman did playing the line.

“No, love is like oxygen!” You reacted again, stepping towards the man. As you got further into the scene, your nerves began melting away. The second hand feeling that came when you did act was starting to kick in. It's been a while since you last did a show, since you left New York two years ago. 

“What?” He spoke, furrowing his brow. You started pacing towards him more.

“Love is a many-splendored thing, love lifts us up where we belong, all you need is love!” By now, you were in his face, arms spread with determination; just like you’d practiced with June. 

“Please, don’t start that again.” Professor Reeves sighed, his hand placing itself on your shoulder and lightly pushing away.

“All you need is love,” You began singing softly, leaning closer to him. 

“A girl has got to eat!” He exclaimed, taking a step away.

“All you need is love,” You sang again, a smile overtaking your face. Your teacher stepped back, turning away from you, really leaning into the character. You assumed he’s seen this move before by how well he was acting. 

“She’ll end up on the street!” He spoke again, turning to face you again. You got up close again, capturing his hand into your own, your faces positioning closer than they should be.

“All you need is love…” You sang softly to finish off your lines, eyes connecting with your teachers. You hadn't noticed the slight wrinkle around them until now, and couldn't help the endearment that rushed your body. 

“Love is just a game.” The professor didn’t sing the part like in the movie; instead he spoke it, but the emotion that line carried still was present. You were getting swept away in the intensity of the scene. His dark brown eyes stared back into your own, hinting his own feelings of lust and want. The sound of someone's chair scraping brought you back to reality and you quickly stepped away to a normal distance. Clearing your throat, you turned towards your classmates and took a quick bow before making your way back towards your table. The burning stare of your teacher's eyes into your back definitely didn’t help. 

“Good job (Y/N). I’ll go ahead and give June the credit too.” Professor Reeves spoke as soon as you sat down after the class had finished clapping. You nodded towards him, trying to catch your breath from the whole situation. You wish June were here to witness that, though. She wouldn’t believe it, and to be honest, you could barely believe it either. 

--

The library was surprisingly empty for prime studying hours, then again, it is a Friday afternoon. Most students are probably drunk right now, pregaming for the weekend, anyways. You, however, decided to study for some test in English at the library instead of going home. You didn’t really want to deal with your parents anyways. Ever since you started school, they’ve been more helicopter-y and won’t leave you alone when you’re home. They want to know everything and it’s exhausting. You honestly miss living alone. Your parents are treating you like you’re in high school again, over eleven years ago. No matter, it was nice to escape the insanity with the quiet, always warm because of the broken heater, library. 

Plus, the escapism helps with distracting your brain from a certain someone. Ever since your presentation in Drama with Professor Reeves about three and a half weeks ago, you’ve been kind of avoiding him. That happening did nothing to help your crush, in fact it only made it worse. He is so handsome and you just can’t help it. His dark, lengthy hair that he often tucked behind his ear; His dark, fierce and sultry eyes that lured you in every time you caught stares. You, without a doubt, are smitten for a man whose not only an authority-ish figure in your life, but twice your age.

The acting exercises you did in class were not helpful either. You noticed he’d minorly started favoring you to play roles. Of course the students hadn’t caught on yet because he hid his favoritism so well, but you just went along with it. Secretly, you kind of wanted to see how this would play out. It’s been nearly two months since the semester started, and the spark you seemed to have acquired hasn’t fizzled. 

“Miss (Y/N)? Not partying?” Professor Reeves spoke behind you. Jumping slightly, you sat up and turned around to look at the man. You already saw him in class today, well, avoided him in class today. This is like a waking nightmare to see him in a safe space. Hiding your feelings, you swallowed before answering. The look on his face was innocent, but you never know what feelings he could be hiding too.

“You scared me,” You commented before continuing, “And, uh, no. It’s not really my scene anymore.” You muttered with a chuckle, turning back towards the table. The echoed footsteps from your teacher indicated he was going to take a seat at the table you currently occupied. Sitting up, you glanced around the library as he did so, but came across nobody.

“Anymore? You look quite young.” He spoke, setting a few books down that he’d had in his grasp. You didn’t notice them before. 

“I’m almost thirty, I’m not young.” You commented with a dry chuckle, finally gathering the courage to look at your teacher. He gave you a laugh, prompting you to let a smile break.

“Well, I’m in my mid-fifties so what does that say about how old I am?” He rebuttaled with humor lacing his tone. You finally broke the resistant act and chuckled, looking towards him. He gave you a soft smile in return, enjoying seeing you filled with humor. The man didn’t want to admit that he also had developed some type of emotion for you as well. Since the moment you introduced yourself he knew you were going to be an issue. Not necessarily a bad thing, just a hindrance. He’s seen a lot of students come and go over the years he’s been teaching, but you’re the first one that’s captivated his eye, ever.

“Right, sorry.” You laughed, looking back towards the notes you’d been writing on. The two of you fell into a silence before your teacher spoke up.

“Hey, are you okay? It seems as though you’ve been avoiding me... If I’m overstepping as your teacher let me know-” The deep voice of your teacher has gone quiet, you knew he wanted to keep this private. 

“No- No… You’re right.” You cut him off, sighing and rubbing your temple quietly. “I, uh, I have been.” The silence of your teacher caused you to look up at him. It was kind of strange to be having such a candid conversation with this man, though he’s just like any other human on earth. 

“Well, may I ask why?” He asked quietly, almost sounding hurt from your choices. You nodded hesitantly before proceeding. Were you about to admit your feelings? Can you even do that? Is it even legal for faculty and students to date? Well, that is if you even date. 

“Ever since our... well my presentation… There's been this weird energy between us and I honestly don't know how to react.” Your voice remained quiet as you spoke and your eyes kept pointed towards the table. Though, you could feel Professor Reeves’ eyes boring into the side of your face. 

“(Y/N)...” The voice of your teacher caught your attention and you looked up. His eyes glanced around the room before he stood up in one quick motion. The towering height of the man was slightly intimidating, however he leaned over swiftly, capturing your face with both of his hands and connecting your lips. 

Fireworks. Explosions. Electricity.

These were all the words you could use to describe the way his lips melded perfectly with your own. His stubble scratched your chin and upper lip so wonderfully and his hands help your face gently. 

The man was the first to break the kiss, as you could've stayed there forever. He parted and stayed only an inch or two away from your face, however. 

“Wow,” You softly breathed, feeling your body physically relax. A slight giggle escaped your throat as you did so. The man smiled back, gleeful from the event that just occurred. 

“I've been wanting to do that since the first day.” He spoke hushedly. You captured his lips once again before quickly shoving your things into your backpack. If things were going to escalate, there was no better time. You cast your eyes up to his, staring through your lashes hinting at the lust you were feeling. 

“The drama room, now.” You rushed, standing up and slinging your bag over your shoulder. You felt your teacher's body heat behind your figure as the two of you quickly, but trying their best to remain inconspicuous, made your way across campus to the Arts building. 

Your teacher shoved open the door, his hand hooking onto your backpack and pulling you in. He swiftly shoved the door closed and locked it shut, making sure it was actually locked. You quickly rushed towards an old prop couch in the back corner of the room, tossing your bag and jacket off. You heard your teacher's footsteps quickly follow and the heat of his hands as he grabbed your arm, flipping you around and shoving you back onto the couch. You grabbed his jacket, pulling him down on top of your figure as you fell. Your bodies felt electric causing your heart to beat faster. 

His eyes glanced down at your chest gazing delightfully at your cleavage. It only gave you confidence as you tangled your fingers into his dark locks, pulling your lips together. His hands then moved and melded firm on your ass, as he didn’t want you to get away. The scratch of his beard only added pain to the pleasure, enhancing the overall experience. Your hands found their way to Professor Reeves’ jeans; slyly unbuckling his belt and with one motion undoing his button as well.  Your hand began to explore, finding his member semi hard and still tucked away behind his underwear. You gently began to rub over the cloth, prompting the man to moan quietly into your kiss.

In the meantime, the man's hands found their way to the zipper of your pants, he’d managed to unzip it entirely and then shifted his hands to unclip your bra through your top. You broke the kiss while he sat up slightly and pulled the apparel off, freeing your legs and top, leaving you in panties and a bra. 

“Jesus, you are… breathtaking.” He muttered, eyes scanning your figure up and down. You felt the self-conscious feelings start to fill your brain and subconsciously hid your figure. Professor Reeves’ large hands grasped your arm, however, and kept you from hiding your gorgeous body.

The man’s mouth was swift to latch onto the swell of your breast, intending to mark the flesh. His fingers gently latched onto your bra, exposing your breast more. He gently kissed down the skin before his tongue swirled your nipple, occasionally flicking it with the muscle. The sensation only fueled your fire down south, and you quickly gathered the courage to gently slide your hands underneath his underwear. Your hand first met the feeling of pubes as you wrapped your hand around the base of his cock, beginning to pump slowly. 

Professor Reeves carefully maneuvered his shirt off his body, tossing it somewhere in the classroom. You admired his body; he was slightly toned on his chest, however his shoulders and arms were more defined. He donned a small patch of chest hair, and a dark happy trail that led to a nice patch of dark pubic hair. His hair was messy, and he combed his fingers through, desperate to remove the strands from his eyes. 

The man now stood up on his knees, quickly shucking off his pants and underwear leaving him completely nude. After that, You took the moment to ogle him and come to the reality that you're about to sleep with your teacher. This is a good idea, yeah? 

Professor Reeves linked his fingers into the sides of your panties, gliding them down and off your legs all while staring at you through his lashes and fallen hair. Afterwards, his fingers gently made their way to your heat, fingers toying and exploring, eyes gazing you up and down. He bit his lip, as a single digit ran up your slit, hitting your clit at the end of it’s journey. You squirmed and gasped at the sudden sensation, earning a whisper of praise from your teacher. He redid the motion, this time with two fingers. You reacted the same, a squeal and squirm, gripping your hand onto his thigh. 

“Darling, so wet for me already.” He commented, voice heavy. “How would you feel I…” He trailed off, slinking down and scooting back until his head came level with your stomach. With the last word escaping his lips, he kissed around your navel, working his way further and further down until a light kiss peppered your clit. Your hands flew to the man's head immediately tangling themselves within his long hair. He took this as an eager invitation, and began to suck your clit with excitement. One of his free hands worked its way up and began to twist your nipple gently. The sensitivity of your body caused you to moan and tighten your grip on the man's hair. His free hand left your nipple and moved down to your vagina. He continued to lick and flick your clit with his tongue as he slowly inserted a single digit. You tightened around his finger, enjoying the feeling of it all as he began to finger you carefully. 

“Oh, Professor,” A breathy moan left your lips. The man’s reaction was to finger you faster while he sucked your clit harder. His beard rubbing against your inner thigh felt so wonderful, and you nearly suffocated the man between your legs. The teacher began to move his fingers skillfully. He kept tapping your g-spot as he did so, earning even louder cries of pleasure from you. He could tell you were getting close, as you kept tightening around his fingers and were basically giving him a head massage. He gently pulled them out, and gave one last sweet kiss to your clit before sitting up on his knees again. His dick was now fully hard and he nonchalantly touched himself, scooting closer to your position. 

You sat up a little, reaching out to grab his member. Your hand replaced his and you switched positions once again, landing you on top. You moved your hair from your face and leaned your head down so your lips were just above his cock. You gently licked the tip, earning a shudder from the teacher. One of your hands gently rubbed your clit while the other held you up as you sucked the bass player off. Your tongue swirled around his member and you bobbed your head, making sure to keep your mouth as airtight as possible. He kept releasing delightful moans, occasionally letting his hand hold your head or fix your hair. He even used it to guide your bobs, keeping you on beat.

“Oh, love,” The man breathed. You cast your gaze up to his face, making sure to stay within rhythm. His  eyes were turned dark from lust as he watched your pretty mouth circle his cock. You then stopped playing with yourself and used that hand to rub him while sucking. His moans only increased and became more frequent with each nod. You finally popped off, finishing with a few kisses around his navel. You wiped the corners of your mouth with a slight grin, sitting back on your knees. The man was only harder now, periodically causing his member to twitch from need. You lazily jerked him with one of your hands as you straddled his lap again, placing you into the cowgirl position. You lined yourself up with him, your entrance just barely touching his tip. 

Professor Reeves gently placed his hands onto your hips, guiding you down onto his cock. You instantly moaned; his hard member filled you so perfectly as you sat down on him, giving you the warm feeling deep in your stomach. The man’s hand stayed firm on your hips as he began to help you bounce up and down on his dick. He even began to thrust up, only resulting in his member going deeper and harder in you.

Each ram seemed to make his hard cock find your g-spot perfectly. Your stomach kept twisting with every thrust, getting closer and closer to your orgasm. The teacher kept averting his gaze between your face and breasts while you fucked, enjoying the bounce of your figure. When you were able to, you would look into his eyes showing you how much you were enjoying him. 

Professor Reeves surprised you by wrapping his arms tightly around your bum, trapping his cock in your pussy as he lifted and laid you on your back again. He then began to thrust more rapid than you'd ever been handled before. Slaps of sweaty skin echoed around the room but you didn’t care at all in the throes of pleasure. You moaned loudly, the Professor as well, only fueling both of your satisfaction. One of his hands found its way to your clit and he began to rub with his thumb. Swirling sensations began to fill your tummy, prompting louder moans. The deep warm feeling before orgasm began to fill each of your limbs.

“Oh, baby, I’m going to cum.” You moaned, opening your eyes long enough to see your teacher's reaction. 

“Darling, cum for me.” He raised his eyebrows in bliss, immediately rubbing your clit faster and harder. In response you tightened around his cock as he thrust, causing the man to close his eyes in pleasure. The pressure was building fast and before you knew it, an orgasm overtook your entire body. You wrapped your legs around the man's back, trapping him deep within you. He let out a pleasure filled gasp as his thrusts became staggard. You could feel his cock throbbing in you as he collapsed and lay with his head snug in your neck. You both lay still, but breathed heavily trying to recover from the incredible orgasm you both just experienced.

Professor Reeves slowly sat up and pulled himself out of you, wincing from how sensitive he was. You felt his hot cum slowly drip out of your pussy, but you didn’t care. The man groaned as he laid down next to you, now both of you laying on the couch, you tucked into his side.

“That was everything I imagined it to be.” The Professor commented after a few moments of silence. You couldn’t help but let a giggle escape as you turned on your side to face the dark haired man.

“I don't even know your name, Professor. You’d think I would've figured it out by now…” You trailed off, studying the man’s face. His eyes caught yours and he let out a short chuckle. 

“I keep it hidden… for reasons.” He trailed off, mindlessly playing with a section of your hair. 

“June told me you used to be a Hollywood actor. I never did a google deep dive to respect your past and, well, you. I wanted to ask you about it instead.” You cast your eyes towards his chest and mindlessly drew shapes with your fingers. 

“It’s Keanu.” His voice was quiet, scanning your face for a reaction. You gave him a soft grin, looking up to meet his gaze.

“That’s a beautiful name.” You spoke in a whisper. He kissed the top of your head as a response, holding your figure tighter. It felt nice to be held by someone again. Keanu was the perfect man for that. Ever since the first day of class he’s made you feel safe. Most encounters with men haven't been pleasant, especially as a female actress. 

“So, when are you going to show me the tapes of your shows?” Your teacher's deep voice gave you goosebumps, and you let out a short chuckle, sitting up and reaching for your bra. In the odd chance anyone was the show up, you wanted to be dressed. 

“When you show me your movies.” You responded cheekily, eyes turning to give the man a wink. He let out a laugh as his large hand landed on your still exposed back, rubbing gently and avoiding your bra straps.

“I remember a certain lady telling me she started in and has a copy of Phantom, and it was mine.” He smirked, sitting up as well and pulling his clothing back on. You shook your head, laughter leaving your lips. 

“How about this, over the course of the semester we…” You paused, eyeing the tall man up and down, “Keep whatever this is going on.” You paused for effect, “And once in a while we’ll watch one of our shows. Deal?” It appeared as though Keanu was thinking for a few moments before he answered.

“Deal.”

[armsdealing]

CHARACTER SHEET repost. do not reblog.

𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐬 !

FULL NAME.     daniel arcelio salazar espinosa PRONUNCIATION.   i’m not smart enough for this shit right now, figure it out. NICKNAME.     dante, dan, danny GENDER.     cis man HEIGHT.     6′0 AGE.     31 ZODIAC.     leo SPOKEN LANGUAGES.     english, spanish, some portuguese

𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 !

HAIR COLOR.     brown EYE COLOR.     dark brown SKIN TONE.     light brown BODY TYPE.     muscular but not bulky. ACCENT.     mix of chicano and standard inner-city LA inflection. VOICE.     on the deep, raspy side. DOMINANT HAND.     left. POSTURE.    lil bit of a slouch. a cool amount.  SCARS.     a scar on his right cheek, and a cut in his left eyebrow. bullet scar in his abdomen. a few surgical scars.  TATTOOS.   he has the god huehuecóyotl in the back of his left hand, and xochipilli on the back of his right hand. roses in his left foream and a sacred heart in the inner side of his right elbow.  BIRTHMARKS.  N/A   MOST NOTICEABLE FEATURE(S).     his hand tattoos, the stripe on the side of his head, his low-pitched voice and his laughter. 

𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 !

PLACE OF BIRTH.     crenshaw, los angeles HOMETOWN.     leimert park, los angeles FIRST WORDS.   "´áme!” (as in “dame” -- gimme! -- in spanish) SIBLINGS.    ramón and mariana salazar. PARENTS.   rené and pilar. PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT.  his parents were both full time workers, so for the few first years of his childhood, he mostly was left to be under his older brother’s supervision until the work day ended. still, they tried their best to help him with his homework and school affairs, watching over him and trying to keep him “on the straight path”  -- but he had still ample time to do whatever he wanted, considering how lax ramón was about everything as long as he did his homework and chores. time his little sister was born, his parents were a little older and had a little more time, and so dante suffered major middle child syndrome. with rené and pilar having to look after “the princess of the house” and ramón out in the streets wilding, he was kind of unsure of his position in the household. he couldn’t be the favorite, as that spot was already seemingly “taken” by the younger kid and only daughter, and he couldn’t be the “rebellious” one, as his brother already had that role down, seeing as he was in the beginning stages of joining a gang.

and then he got shot, and lost his foot, and then not much later ramón went to juvenile. and his parents truly pulled through during this portion of his life. looked everywhere for all possible resources to help him, made a bunch of calls and public appearances, took him to all his physical therapy sessions and psychology appointments, and just -- really took his trauma seriously. it helped his recovery in a tremendous way, and dante is very grateful for them. they pulled a 180 in a way, especially his mother, who became a bit of a helicopter parent during his late teens, but he managed to convice her he was okay. and he really was okay. and pilar begrudgingly accepted it and eventually let him go. 

he ultimately considers them to be good parents. not perfect, but very good. he still gets along really well with the two of them. 

𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 !

OCCUPATION.     he’s a musician. a guitar player, to be precise, though he also plays piano. used to be part of a fairly popular punk group called Cadejos, left out of “professional differences” with the lead singer. he’s also a songwriter -- he wrote half of cadejos’ discography. and he writes music for other groups. he even writes pop music sometimes.  CURRENT RESIDENCE.     an apartment in santa monica.  CLOSE FRIENDS.     used to be the people he started out cadejos with, but fuck those guys. currently, he’s good friends with la’rissa @streetsofsecrets​ RELATIONSHIP STATUS.     no strings. FINANCIAL STATUS.   he’s doing well financially, but he ain’t rich by any means. DRIVER’S LICENSE.     yeah.  CRIMINAL RECORD. cops stop and “mistake” him for someone they’re looking for all the time, but he’s never been arrested so far. VICES.        cigarettes, weed. did a bit of coke in his early twenties, but cut it short. 

𝐬𝐞𝐱 & 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 !

SEXUAL ORIENTATION. bisexual. ROMANTIC ORIENTATION. bisexual. PREFERRED EMOTIONAL ROLE.     submissive  | dominant |  switch. PREFERRED SEXUAL ROLE.     submissive |  dominant |  switch. LIBIDO.     medium-to-high. TURN ON’S.     confidence, neck kisses, biting, artistic-driven people. dirty talk. putting his fingers in your mouth.  TURN OFF’S.    people touching his leg stump, as it’s quite sensitive. it’s a sign of trust when he lets people touch it, but during sexual situations it’s uncalled for either way. any hardcore bdsm. LOVE LANGUAGE.    quality time. RELATIONSHIP TENDENCIES.     most relationships he’s had have been on the casual side, due to his transient lifestyle and being constantly on tour. he prefers that unless he’s really into the person. he’s been with a few overly jealous people and he’s realized he’s not into his partners being constantly on his business about where he is and if he’s got company, especially since he usually doesn’t do things to warrant mistrust, he’s just busy and most of his work is done during the night time and it involves going to bars, clubs, parties, and sometimes they can come with him and sometimes they can’t. overall he’d be okay with settling down, they just need to be okay these things. 

it’s also better if you don’t come on too strong right from the start. again hes okay with serious relationships, monogamy, etc -- he’s at the age where he “should be thinking about it”, according to his mom anyway -- but he’d like to start off simple. build things gradually. big conversations like that at the very beginning make him uncomfortable. 

𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬 !

CHARACTER’S THEME SONG.     acción - la vida boheme HOBBIES TO PASS TIME.    reading. listening to music. videogames. boxing. driving his motorcycle on the highway.  MENTAL ILLNESSES.     treated PTSD. PHYSICAL ILLNESSES.    deals with phantom pain now and then. LEFT OR RIGHT BRAINED. right-brained. PHOBIAS.      none. SELF CONFIDENCE LEVEL.     high. VULNERABILITIES.     his family. 

TAGGED BY: people a long time ago. TAGGING: @nightmove​​ @exmateria​​ (judai) @streetsofsecrets​​ (la’rissa), @amorcitio​​, @surviveds​​ (your choice), @brutlist​​, @soypeor​​ (your choice)​

[im-a-lonelyheart]

Fitzsimmons Family Headcanons in case canon fails me

And before they destroy them. Buckle up.

(I wrote this in less than an hour and english is not my first language, sooo sorry for any mistakes)

Edit: I re-posted it because it wasn’t showing up in the tags. sorry.

Enjoy! (Gift credit: X)

They finally decide to retire to their cottage.

Daisy and May lived with them for a while but at different times. Daisy around the time their first kid was born and May when the youngest was a kid already.

May and Daisy totally live together in the USA.

Fitzsimmons started a biomedical company, they make prostetics and medical supplies. They fund small researchers and become relatively known in the medical field (under aliases of course). They run their company from their home as much as they can.

Deke got bored of his company, so he eventually fused it with FS’s, he has enough money to travel around the world and be whatever he wants. Once was a TV chef, and he got bored and became a travel blogger, then launched a clothing line so it goes…

Tried to convince the team to turn their story into a broadway musical. They all said no. He brings it up everytime they are all together (you never know)

Fitzsimmons have three kids, they were all planned ;) of course

Daisy teases Fitz about how the three of them look like Jemma. “You are adopted”. the son is the only one who kinda looks like him. Fitz doesn’ t mind.

After the kids go their own ways they leave together again.

Have their own quinjet in case of emergencies, they say. Let’s be honest after years of flying with SHIELD, commercial flights lost their charm.

Look retired Fitzsimmons would be that kind of couple who travels the world together (properly this time), they say the quinjet is to visit their friends and Family around the world but would randomly send pictures of them in front of a famous landmark.

Mackenzie Skye Fitzsimmons (Daisy calls her Kye) (Born around 2021) (Quarantine baby) or (Timetravel baby)

They never asked Deke about their daughter’s name in the original timeline, but once they told him, judging by his reaction they knew it was this. (but in the lighthouse timeline her nickname was Kenzie)

Fitz was really adamant on this name, Jemma thought it was cute and a great way to honor their best friends, but years later he told the kid:

“you were named after two of the bravest persons I’ve ever met”.

Jemma just stared into the space as it dawned on her that her husband was really an idiot.

He winked at her and she forgave him. Eventually.

When she was a toddler Fitzsimmons moved back to the city and left their cottage, they wanted their daughter to have the best education and also didn’t want to wake her up early because the closest school was still an hour away.

Around that time Daisy found Bobbi, they met up, and Bobbi introduced her to her baby son Owen. 

“oh my god. I need to call Fitzsimmons” 

“what” 

“shhhh. wait, it’s connecting... Hey guys! Look who is here! Bobbi and her baby Owen Shaw” 

Fitz spits his tea all over his phone. Bobbi doesn’t know what’s going on, and they eventually explain it to her, well, after Daisy stops laughing and Fitz stops coughing.

Bobbi and Hunter had changed names and moved to England. After learning that Fitzsimmons live nearby, they make plans to see each other as much as they can. Look this is my headcanon AU so Fitzsimmons offer them positions in their company, Bobbi in the lab and Hunter in a made up security position that doesn’t fit his nametag. 

Some weekends Fitz and Hunter take the babies to the park together, while Jemma and Bobbi work or hang out together. One day kye and Owen were playing and Owen proudly declared he was going to be an astronaut. Fitz was like “you and your son are the bane of my existence”.

The kids become best friends. Duh 

BUT this is Bobbi and Hunter we are talking about, they’re nomads so they eventually move out around Europe and America, when the kid started high school they agreed to stay in one place.

Anyways,

Amazing kid, took a while for her parents to figure out the whole parenting thing but she was so great, as long as things went her way.

Fitz can’t say no to her. A dog? We’ll manage. Ice cream for breakfast? c’mon you know how convincing she can be. 

She is a really calm kid, well behaved. Responsible older sister, mom friend, but messy af. “look mom, I have a system and I know where everything is”.

Nicest kid you’ll ever meet, but if you mess with her siblings be careful, you never know if you will find trash in your backpack.

She is an MD. Eventually, her parents moved back to the countryside but she stayed in the city with her sister to finish her education.

Makes friends everywhere she goes.

She and Owen started dating in their teens but were on and off several times, they even briefly dated other people because one of them would get scared of things becoming too serious (even more when they learned that Uncle Deke was genetically their son). 

In their late twenties they decided to get married as a compromise to stay together and work things out, after all, some things are inevitable.

They had two kids: Daniel Shaw (Deke, but They wanted him to be his own person so they changed the name), Gabrielle Shaw (Born as Oliver Shaw)

Owen worked for a while for SWORD. Eventually decide to move to Germany to work as researchers.

Margaret Abigail Fitzsimmons (Maggie) (Born 2025)

The odd one. Grew up to be a successful artist. Really independent as a child, could play hours by herself or caually chill around her parents or her brother’s crib.

Despite being the only one in her family who isn’t into science, she loves doing experiments all the time, in the name of aesthetic. One time turned the dog blue. There’s a fire extinguisher in the living room just because of her. Banned from her parents’ lab “Pretty colors can go boom”. Aparently.

After being constantly told she is diferent from the rest of her family, she feels happy when someone tells her she looks like her mom. She scoffs but she doesn’t really mind.

Acts though but is a softie, vegan, activist, animal lover. Loves to tease everyone, prankster, makes fun of her mom but it’s the first person she thinks of when something troubles her. Late night calls are not unheard of.

Can’t commit to a single hobby. Photography, cooking, volunteer work... name something, and she has probably already tried it.

Really close to Deke, sometimes travels with him. They are kindred spirits. Feel like only them understand the need to explore and try new things.

She grew up to resent shield. Look she loves what her parents and their friends did, but hates how it affected them. Forgive and forget? in this economy?? 

Lives in Paris by herself but somehow always manages to get everyone to come to her art exhibits. You won’t be able to stop her once she sets her mind to something. Stubborn as her dad.

Doesn’t want kids, maybe one day if she feels ready she will adopt but she is happy as an aunt.

Matthew Phillip Fitzsimmons (Matthew) (Born 2030)

Ray of sunshine, Momma’s boy. He loves it when his parents take him to their lab. Ever since he could walk he is always following his sisters around, if they are up to something he is the first one to know. They love to tease him, but he has enough blackmail material to get them to shut up. He would never use it tho.

Computer genius. He has his own video game company. Launched his first video game at 16. Fitz is mildly offended he sees the Framework code as “old stuff”.

He is a sweetheart, adores his parents and calls them every single day. He met his wife in college and has been happy ever since. It was fast and passionate, they got married within a year and a few years later they had a baby. 

Truly an example of living fast. 

Melissa Fitzsimmons (his daughter) a sweetheart, may is her godmother. (The babies’ baby’s baby, i cry). The cousins are thick as thieves. 

May loves the kid, “age is making you softer”, Daisy tells her and laughs, May’s glare while holding a baby is too much for her.

Emma Johnson (born 2029) (the honorary fourth kid)

Daisy’s daughter. Jemma cried when she told her the baby’s name. She wanted May and Jemma in the delivering room with her. 

I can see Daisy being a badass single mother but I also see her finding love, I haven’t made up my mind but I think she will be loved either way.

Only child, so loves to hang out with the FS kids.

She and Matthew are best friends since they were little, even having video calls when they couldn’t see each other in person.

Fitz and Daisy had a bet on whether they would get together, but it was called off when it became apparent Emma wasn’t interested in men altogether. She was the first woman in his wedding.

The “Quake” legacy was too much for her so she decided to focus in something different. Currently works as an architect and on her spare time works as a freelance illustrator.

All I can imagine is a scene where the are all together in a field (probably the same one where they buried Coulson and Loop!Fitz) May, Fitzsimmons and Daisy. They try to meet up there at least once a year to chat and reminisce about old times, sometimes with Deke, Mack and Elena (and their twin boys) or just them. 

Their kids are playing while their parents watch, but May’s watching them, with their backs to her they almost look like the kids she met in the bus all those years ago. Coulson would’ve been so proud, this is the future we were fighting for all along, she thinks.

“You did good”.

Daisy turns around with a soft smile on her face and says “yes, we did.”

The end

[hadesisqueer]

I seriously laugh, even if it's not really funny (or maybe just a little), about how people just love to criticize Bumbleby even though their argument doesn't make any sense or just shows that they have double standarts.

The relationship is poorly developed.

No, it, in fact, isn't. Subtlely (although Burning the Candle isn't exactly subtle, and neither is the fact that Blake directly compared Yang to her former love interest) or not, the relationship has been hinted and developed since probably... The Red Trailer. Red Like Roses pt. II is basically foreshadowing for the four main characters. Black the Beast descends from shadows, Yellow Beauty burns Gold, anyone? Blake chose Yang as her partner the same way Pyrrha and Nora chose Jaune and Ren, their love interests. And do you really think Adam saying “I will make it my mission to destroy everything you love” and then Yang showing up looking for Blake as Blake looks at her terrified with her face zoomed and then they zoom Adam's face realizing it and saying “starting with her” was meant to be platonic? (Honestly, that was the moment when I confirmed to myself that the relationship was going to be romantic, and I've been proven right). Do you think that Yang admiting that she needed Blake in the same episode in which another girl admits she has feelings for Blake is a coincidence? Did you listen to All That Matters and said “yeah, this is about a gal pal”? Did you even watch vol 6 and 7??? Or just the show, in general? You probably thought Bmblb was about the bike.

I'm not going to make an analysis about their development or about all the Beauty and The Beast references, or about the Renora and Arkos parallels because there are already plenty of those. But honestly, dude, they're not even dating yet. They have romantic feelings for each other, yes, but the already well-developed relationship is still in development so just shut up and keep watching. Or not.

Second argument: It's forced. They're shoving it down our throats.

This one is funny because it doesn't even make sense. Like, how can something be poorly developed and be shoved down your throat at the same time? You were probably one of the few people screeching about Saphron and Terra Cotta, or Clover winking at Qrow, or Ilia being a lesbian, or May being trans, or Blake blushing and Yang gay panicking over her hair.

This one's a classic for basically every single LGBT character in any form of media. Watch whatever show you want, liveaction or animated, watch any film, read any book or comic, it doesn't matter; if they have an LGBTQ+ character, even in the background, you will find someone saying this. Just watch.

They were straight. They made them gay out of nowhere.

First of all, not everyone is straight or gay. There are orientations in between. I'm Spanish, and I always make this joke: the B in LGBT stands for bisexuals, not for bocadillo de atún (that means tuna sandwich in Spanish, and considering is Blake we're talking about, it goes well with the situation). Writers don't have make a character's orientation specific since the begining, because the character might not know. That's what makes it realistic, because it happens in real life. Self-discovery can happen at any age. You might know your sexuality when you're a kid, some people know when they go through puberty (like me), some people realize in their late teens/twenties, and there are people who don't find out until they're like fourty. And yes, I'm talking about Qrow and Fair Game in here. Actually, who says Qrow didn't know already he was bi or whatever and didn't have boyfriends and girlfriends in the past? The guy never said he was LGBTQ+, but he never said he was straight either. None of the characters have. You're the one who is assuming they're all straight because, well, heteronormativity. That's something I unfortunely do too.

Blake is already confirmed to be bisexual. She was in a relationship with Adam and had a crush with Sun and now. Does that mean she can't have feelings for Yang? Now, it doesn't. She has feelings for her. That's what bisexual means. She swings both ways. With Gambol Shroud. Come get some, motherfuckers.

When it comes to Yang, her sexuality hasn't been confirmed yet. We know she's wlw because she likes Blake, but she could be anything. For my part, until her orientation is confirmed (if it ever is, because I don't think it's always necessary to adress a character's sexuality; they like who they like, period), I think she's a lesbian. Yes, she made that joke about shirtless guys in early vol 1, but then she never showed interest in any male after that. Neptune tried to flirt? Uninterested. Shirtless Sun? Lame. Two huntsmen try to flirt with her? Pass. That joke could've been because she hadn't realized yet or maybe it was just that, a joke to annoy Ruby. I'm an out lesbian and I make jokes like that all the time to annoy my friends. But until it's confirmed, it's only a headcannon.

Them being a couple would ruin the team's dynamic because they would look more after each other and leave the other two teammates as second.

This one is just stupid. Yes, it would ruin the dynamic just like Arkos and Renora would ruin their team dynamic, right? And yet I still haven't seen anyone complaining about those two couples, just the same sex one. Damn, do you think having two sisters on the same team doesn't affect the dynamic already? (Pause to laugh because honestly, if I were Yang, I probably wouldn't take Ruby as a leader seriously. My little sister who I basically raised and who is nearly a foot shorter than me, ordering me around? I couldn't lmao).

It ruins the entire show

I'm not even going to talk about this one. If you think the show is ruined because two girls are dating, just stop watching it. No one is forcing you to ship the couple, you are allowed to dislike it and ship other things. Don't go around talking about “toxic wasps” (Pause again: who thought wasp is insulting? I laugh everytime I get called that) are obsessed with the ship because the ones who won't stop talking about it and making entire videos about how terrible it is and how it ruins the show are the haters. I haven't been in the fandom for much time, honestly. Quarantine made me watch the show. But the couple months I've been here have been enough for me to realize that the amount of toxic Bumbleby shippers is actually really small. Bumbleby shippers aren't obsessed with Bumbleby nor are they trying to force the writers to do what they want, the haters are.